Fires of Destiny
by Purple Mouse
Summary: Ten years after the OVA, Tasuki's in charge of the Mt. Reikaku Bandits and must face a madman with dictatorial ambitions...with the help of some old friends and enemies. Ehehe...after a sabbatical of ten million years, here's...chapter 17 ^_^()
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Man…~ ****

Disclaimer: Man…~.~() …Thinking of creative ways to say I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or its characters is almost as challenging as writing the story itself!

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Warnings: Tasuki-inspired bad language; bandit dialect; semi-graphic scenes of aftermath of violence (wow, that's a mouthful, but you get it). I can't remember ever reading anything like this, but I dunno…it seems to me like this type of thing has probably been done before…I just had to write down my version before I forgot it. ^_^ I thought of it on my way to German class. Hey, higher education's gotta be good for something. ^_^

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Notes: HOLY COW! It's a story about Tasuki!! (Nuriko:**pouts**) ^_^ Ooh, here's my Tasuki face: V,V  
Okay, maybe it doesn't really look like him…okay. **hides under bed** You can go ahead and read the story now. I promise I'll shut up. 

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Fires of Destiny  
~*~

"Killing is _wrong_," he stated firmly. "It doesn't do anybody any good at all. And stealing valuable stuff is just _fine _for _us_, but what about the poor guy who spent all that time earning money to buy it, or went through a lot of shit to get it, only to have it stolen by some freakin wolf…ah, some freakin _other _guy?!"

Asaku accepted the lecture calmly. "Sorry for asking, Genrou, but…_why _are you a bandit, again?"

"Whadda ya mean?!" Tasuki growled. "I'm a _good _bandit! I'm yer leader, ain't I? And ya don't become leader of a group of bandits unless yer a _damn good bandit_!!"

"Or else, unless you have a magical tessen," said Asaku under his breath.

"OI!!! _Who_'_s _a Suzaku seishi, _huh_??" The red-haired man leaned back in his chair with a smug smile. "Heh! _Me_! _Not _my tessen. _Me._"

"Hey, Genrou…" Kouji leaned over from the side, speaking in low tones so the restless group of young men before them couldn't hear. "You know how hot-blooded we were when _we _first joined the band…why not just give them a mission, or something? Something simple, I dunno…like a sneak into an aristocrat's house. There's that one lord over in Sarasshi…I've heard tell he's a pretty nasty character. It can't hurt to go after _him_, now, can it? And it'd calm some of these kids down."

Tasuki considered this. It was true; the Mt. Reikaku Bandits hadn't done much in the way of banditing lately. It had been nearly ten years since the final battle with Tenkou, and each year, he seemed to enjoy his work less and less…damn the Suzaku Seven. _Damn_. He hadn't intended it, but…somewhere along the line, he'd gone and picked up _morals_.

"Shit," he muttered. He should have insisted that Kouji remain the leader…but his old friend had been horrified at the idea. He didn't _mean _to have an outspoken conscience. It's just that every time his men targeted someone, he couldn't help but think what would happen if the victim had a family, maybe little brothers and sisters like Tamahome…_Gaahhh, ya sentimental, soft-brained…_ "Go, go, what the hell, just go," he said. "Go to freakin Sarasshi and hijack Lord Shujin's carriage train, or somethin. Try not to kill anyone, will ya?"

Asaku flashed an excited grin, nearly bouncing on his toes in anticipation. "Sure, boss! Don't worry!" He made a clumsy, fumbling half-bow and dashed from the room.

Kouji chuckled when he'd gone. "Well, you sure made him happy."

"Yeah." Tasuki sighed. "I dunno, Kouji-kun. Maybe the kid's right. I…I just dunno if I'm cut out to be a bandit anymore."

"What are you _talking _about?" His friend seemed shocked.

"Well…don't take it the wrong way, or anything! It's just weird, ya know… doing this again after saving the world and stuff. It just feels so incongruous."

Kouji blinked. "Excuse me…did you just say 'incongruous'?"

The red-haired seishi blushed. "_No_."

"Yikes."

"Look, _shut up_," Tasuki glowered. "_Crap_! And it all started with stupid Miaka, too! The first time we _met _her, remember, I said she was trouble…we fed her, acted like a bunch of noble freakin _gentlemen_…"

"You've always been like that," Kouji smirked.

"What the…_I have not_!!" 

"Yes, you _have_. You always found some excuse for lettin the women you captured go…you always made sure all your ransomed lordlings were _comfortable_, _well-nourished_…hmm, must come from havin five sisters."

"I'm a bad-ass mofo!!" Tasuki insisted.

"Look, I'm not questioning yer goddamn bad-ass mofo-ness!" the blue-haired bandit retorted. "I'm just sayin', Gen-kun, yer a good guy! It just took Suzaku no Miko for ya to realize it, is all."

"Hmmph."

"Besides, I think yer good for the gang. Ya don't have to be a heartless bastard to be a bandit, ya know."

Tasuki frowned and snorted. "Sure earns a guy more respect, though."

~*~  


When the large group that had gone out to Sarasshi failed to return by midnight, their leader and his best friend began to worry. Tasuki, as always, was tactful in conveying his emotions.

"DAMN F@$#% BUNCHA %*(#^*&% @#*&!!!"

"Nice to see yer keepin yer head," Kouji told him.

"Where the hell are they?! What the hell _happened_??? Man, let me be the first to congratulate you on a freakin _brilliant _idea, Kouji!!"

"Hey, Genrou," piped a voice. 

The two friends whirled to see Kai, one of the few who had stayed behind.

The normally cheerful boy was pale-faced and solemn. "Asaku's back, wants to see you."

Tasuki nodded briskly, a wordless order, and waited with his arms folded tightly across his chest. 

The young man who stumbled to stand before them was a wreck. His hair was singed, his clothing torn; his left sleeve was in shreds, the arm beneath blistered with burns. He was burned all over, Tasuki noted; for once keeping tight reign on the stream of profanities that begged to be released, he asked, "What happened?"

"It got a little…out of control," Asaku panted.

"No shit. _What happened_?"

Gulping, the tattered bandit continued. "Rishun," he said, "It was Rishun, he…he just went crazy. Started burning things. It was just Shujin's stables, at first…we tried to tell him not to, but him and his pals, you know how they get…but then they went crazy and started torching _everything_…inns, homes…" He let out a shuddering breath. "The whole town's burnin now. A bunch of us made it back here, but there's lots who're in the middle of it…"

Tasuki set his jaw, clenched his fists, and headed toward the door.

"Where ya goin?" Kouji called after him, surprised.

"Where the hell d'ya _think _I'm goin?!"

__

Right…stupid question. And Kouji hurried after him.

~*~

The village of Sarasshi was relatively small; it consisted only of the Lord's manor, a small marketplace, and a few dozen tiny merchants' homes. The majority of the people lived in the surrounding rural areas, and had been saved from the vicious attack. 

When Tasuki and Kouji arrived, however, there was not much left of the main site. The flames had almost all died, but most of the houses stood half-burned. Rishun and his companions were nowhere to be found, and the surviving townsfolk had apparently fled; there was an eerie silence in the streets, the wind blowing through the ashes like spirits in a ghost town.

For what seemed like hours, the two friends stared at the ruins in horror. 

"Well…" Kouji swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "What now?"

"Now…now we look for survivors," Tasuki said grimly. 

While Kouji took the east side of the town, Tasuki busied himself with the west. He had dared to hope that all the people had managed to escape, a delusion that was quickly shattered by the charred corpses he uncovered, the men and women crushed by falling roofs and timbers. What made his heart burn even more and his frustration and anger well up to the brim inside him were the _numerous _bodies of people who had been _murdered_—run through with swords, stabbed with daggers, slashed open and mutilated by human hands. 

__

Damn Rishun…damn him!!!

Unable to control his rage, two angry tears slipping down from the corners of his eyes, he roared and slammed his fist into a wall. The pain helped to calm him, to think about it rationally…_Find Rishun…gotta find him, make him pay for what he's done…_

Wait…what was that……Crying?…

He held his breath, cocked his head to listen. He could have sworn he'd heard something, over the crackling of the last dying flames in the distance, over the screaming of his own mind…

…A little sob, coming from the far corner of the house he was in; could it be? He raised his lantern…A small form, huddled against the wall…a child. Covered in soot from head to toe. No wonder he hadn't noticed it.

As quickly as he dared, he moved over to the corner, not wanting to startle the kid, but urgently trying to see if it was hurt in any way. "Hey," he said quietly. "Hey, you okay?"

The child opened its eyes, staring up with wide, quivering, lavender orbs at the bandit leader. "Go away," it threatened weakly, "I'll hurt you."

Tasuki blinked. "I'm not…I'm not one of the men who did this," he assured his discovery. "I just wanna help. Are ya hurt?"

It regarded him measuringly, then apparently decided that the red-haired stranger was telling the truth. "No," it sniffed; "They told me to run…I went to the edge of the forest to wait for them, but they never came. So I came back…when the fire stopped. I…I can't find them, though."

With a glance over to the front of the house—two bodies, one slain, one burned—Tasuki cleared his throat. "Yeah, uh…well, kiddo, why don't ya let me take you home with me, get ya cleaned up and stuff…and then we can figure things out tomorrow, whadda ya say?"

He expected at least a little bit of an argument; he was a stranger, after all. But the child just stared at him, then lowered its eyes and nodded. "Okay."

~*~

"So, ah…what's yer name?" Tasuki asked as they walked along the borders of Sarasshi. _Is this kid a boy or a girl?? I can't tell, with all the dirt and crap…_

"Horyuu."

__

Gee. That helps. 

"Oi, Genrou!" 

He turned to see Kouji coming toward them, his arm around _another _small figure, though this one was a bit bigger than his own, and seemed to be _slimy_ rather than sooty.

"You find one, too?"

"Yeah…in the well."

"_Ken-chan_!" exclaimed Horyuu, rushing over to fling…_his? Her? Hell…_arms around the other. "You're alive!"

Kouji's kid was calm and reserved, but kept its eyes on the ground. As the two survivors clung to each other and shared greetings, Tasuki edged over to his friend. "Uh, hey…is yours a boy or a girl?"

"Uh…well…"

"Is mine wearing girls' clothes? I can't freakin tell!"

"Um, we'll find out soon enough, I guess, won't we?" 

"Sure." Tasuki sighed and frowned. "If Rishun's back at camp when we get there…"

"Somehow, I doubt he will be."

"Yeah. Well…we'll get them," he swore. "We'll get them, sooner or later."

The youngsters, after a relieved reunion, now appeared to be falling asleep against each other. 

"Let's get them home, at least," Tasuki muttered. "Get them to sleep. We can clean 'em up in the morning…"

~*~

Horyuu and "Ken-chan,"—whose real name, Kouji related, was Kentoku—spent the night in Tasuki's bed. The next morning, they were dragged, yawning, to be cleaned up. It was quite a task, getting a group of rough bandits to haul enough water to the main cabin for two children to bathe in and wash their clothes. They were left to wash by themselves, while Tasuki and Kouji resigned themselves to scrubbing the soiled garments.

"Ah hah!" Tasuki cried, holding up Horyuu's cleaned outfit. "Girl!"

"Boy!" returned his blue-haired companion, displaying an equally clean, reddish tunic.

"Good to have _that _straightened out, fer cryin out loud…"

The door creaked open, and the two bandits turned to face their scrubbed protegés…turned, and stared.

"Genrou…they…" Kouji whispered; Tasuki silenced him with a wave of his hand.

Kentoku, wrapped in one of Tasuki's shirts, regarded them silently with slanted, golden eyes, his long, dark-brown hair drying softly on his shoulders; Horyuu was grinning, despite the slight, tired circles beneath her lavender eyes, under a tousled mass of violet.

"_Shit_," breathed Tasuki and Kouji in unison.

"See? They think I'm handsome, now I'm clean," said Kentoku to his friend.

"Yeah, yeah…" Horyuu rolled her eyes.

"Uhh…do ya…want yer clothes?" inquired Kouji, holding out the dripping tunic.

"Thank you," said the boy, accepting it politely, despite its dampness.

"You…want yers, too?" Tasuki made a similar offer.

But Horyuu just stared at the dress, and wrinkled her nose. "No," she said in a small voice, then looked imploringly over at Kentoku. "No. I don't want it anymore. I don't have to wear it anymore…do I?"

The golden-eyed child shook his head, turning to their benefactors. "Might I borrow some clothing for my friend?"

Tasuki struggled to find his tongue—_Gold, lavender, violet, by the wings of Suzaku, is that a MOLE under her eye??_—and finally replied, "O-of course…but we don't, uh…we don't have anything that'd fit her…"

The girl flinched visibly, and Kentoku's eyes narrowed as he set a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Horyuu's a _boy_," he said firmly.

It was all Tasuki could do to keep himself from bursting into insane laughter.

TBC…

Hee hee. ^_^ 

Note: I know gender is apparent in personal pronouns, etc. when one is speaking in Japanese…however, for the purposes of this story, I've kind of ignored that rule. Sorry if it bugs anyone. ^_^ Thanks for reading!


	2. Decisions

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimer: Lalalala…don't own nothing…lalalala….

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Warnings: Okay, I wrote this when I was pretty darn tired, so I'm sorry if the word choice is repetitive, or I slip out of bandit dialect in favor of words that actually end with 'ing,' etc….I just had to get it down before it was lost forever in the disorganized filing cabinet I like to call my mind. ^_^ 

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Other Warnings: Traumatic pasts, crying, and psychotic babbling. ~.^;; 

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Two:

Decisions

"Horyuu's a boy!" Tasuki exclaimed wildly, giggling slightly. "Purple hair… mole…dressed up as a girl…but…heh…_no_! Horyuu's a boy! _Horyuu's a boy_!!"

"Ya might wanna take a nap, or somethin," Kouji mumbled. The two of them had made a hasty retreat to Kouji's room, leaving the two children with brief instructions to go see Kai about some clothes. 

"It's them! I _know _it's them! Aren't I right?? Isn't it them?? You see it too, right?? Or am I going crazy??"

"I see it," Kouji assured him. "You're not _seein _things, but ya look like yer goin crazy just the same."

"_Well, can ya @*!!*% blame me_??!!"

His friend sighed. He had always been the quicker to adjust to things. "So what does this change, huh, Genrou? They're yer dead friends, born again. What's it change?"

Tasuki shook his head. "I dunno," he said finally, softly. "I dunno. It shouldn't change anything, ya know. But somehow, it changes _everything_." He sat backward on a chair, arms folded upon the back, and rested his chin upon his arms. 

The blue-haired bandit watched him sit, staring off at some spot on the worn wooden floor, uncharacteristically pensive. He was about to say something to break the strange silence, when the other man beat him to it.

"Do they even _remember_ who they were?! I mean, are they completely clueless… or do they have some kinda, you know, crazy memories, like Tamahome did… What if they've grown up hearin stories about themselves, and they don't know it's themselves they're hearin about? Wouldn't that be…_weird_?? Of course, they wouldn't know it was weird, if they don't know they're them…_gahhh_! My head hurts!" He buried his nose in the crook of his elbow.

"Ya might, you know…_ask them_," Kouji suggested.

"I can't do that!" The red head shot up, the pale brown eyes aghast. "How the hell would _that _sound?! 'Hey, kid, you wouldn't by any chance have memories of a past life in which you were killed by a giant wolf creature or a freakin evil blonde guy, would ya? I'm just askin, cuz, ya know, I chummed around with ya until you died…'"

"Well then," said Kouji rationally, "why don't you just wait and see what comes of it? Maybe it'll come up, one way or another…"

"But it's freakin drivin me _nuts_, Kouji!" Tasuki exclaimed. "I wanna ask them all these questions…" Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he stood up quickly, knocking over the chair. "I have to find Chichiri; that's what I have to do! _That's _what I'll do! Find Chichiri…"

As Tasuki bustled around the room, muttering incoherent plans to himself, Kouji slipped outside to see if the children who were causing so much unintended emotional drama had managed to take care of themselves. He spotted Asaku over by the wall, his arm well-bandaged, and headed over.

"How's the arm?" he asked nonchalantly.

Asaku looked up briefly, then gazed back out into the forest. "Better, thank you."

"Any news of Rishun?"

The young man shook his head. 

"Hn. Figures." Kouji ran a hand through his hair. "Bastard knows better than to show his face here again. When we find him…"

"He wants to form his own band."

"What?" Kouji blinked. "What…"

"He's been planning it for a while, I guess," Asaku continued, still not meeting the other man's eyes. "He used to joke about it, but we all, well, we just thought it was a joke, ya know, because Genrou wasn't so bloodthirsty…He only had a few guys who went around with him—you know the ones, mostly the big, dumb ones—but they were enough, huh. I guess a couple big, dumb guys can do an awful lot of damage."

__

He's forming his own band. Kouji's lips tightened. A band that kills as well as pillages…If what the boy said was true, then it wouldn't be difficult to find Rishun again: they simply had to follow the trail of destruction. The trick was to find him and stop him _before _that destruction could occur…which was considerably trickier. 

"Thanks," he said seriously, clapping a friendly hand on Asaku's good shoulder. "Thanks. If anything else comes up, come right to me or Genrou, right?"

Asaku nodded.

A thousand problems whirling around in his mind like a miniature cyclone, Kouji headed off once more. He'd have to talk to Genrou about this…how long would it take before that psychopath Rishun recruited enough brutes to trample the entire country?! They should send scouts out…not a large group, just enough to catch a glimpse of what was happening without making it an all-out _war…_maybe a spy. Yes. A spy! A spy could…

"_Nooooooo_!!! I won't, I won't, I won't!! I don't have to wear it anymore! I don't have to be her anymore! They promised! They _promised_!!" 

Startled out of his thoughts by the scream, he recognized its source as a small, slight, purple-haired form clad only in a yellow shirt that fit like a circus tent, running blindly in his direction and emitting painful, hitching sobs. Kouji reached out his arm and snagged Horyuu—_Nuriko, it's Nuriko_—as he passed.

"Nuh…Horyuu!" he said, his voice gentle, but loud to be heard over the tears. "Horyuu, what's the matter?"

The boy wrenched out of his grasp with surprising strength. "_Don't_!"

Kouji stared at him helplessly. The child's hair was mussed, his eyes wild and red; the overlarge shirt had slipped down one of the heaving shoulders, revealing a jutting clavicle. _Damn it; I don't know how to deal with a kid!!_ He was relieved to hear footsteps approaching at a run, and exhaled slowly as Kai and the other boy, Kentoku, reached his side.

"Horyuu, it's all right," Kentoku panted, "it's all right, he didn't know…he didn't _know_, Horyuu!"

"What the hell is going on?" Kouji demanded, bewildered.

Poor Kai was equally baffled. "I just…I tried to give her clothes! That's all I did, I swear! And she went crazy!"

"Mm-hmm…what did you give him to wear?"

"A…skirt…" the young man said slowly, the masculine pronoun registering at last. "From one of Shiha's girl…friends…what, it's a boy?"

"No one told you?"

"I'm _not _gonna wear a skirt!" Horyuu wailed hysterically. "I won't! They can't make me, they're dead! They're _dead_! I'm a boy!" He began sobbing hard, looking up at Kouji with angry, desperate, pleading eyes. "I'm a _boy_! I'm…I'm…"

"Oi, kiddo," came a strangely soft voice.

Four heads turned to see Tasuki standing nearby, on his face an expression of almost aching compassion.

"I know," said the red-haired bandit leader carefully. "Horyuu. I know you're a boy. We all know. We won't make you be something you're not."

Ragged breaths slowing, the child stared up into his eyes, as if searching for some physical sign of the promise. When he was satisfied that Tasuki was in earnest, he launched himself with a small hiccup into the protection of the now kneeling man's arms. Tasuki clutched him close, once again staring at the floor a few feet in front of him, dazedly, as if it held some sort of weird fascination for him.

At Kouji's side, Kentoku let out a weary sigh. As he caught Kouji's puzzled expression, he drew himself up like a miniature emperor—_but he WAS the Emperor, _Kouji's mind cried, _he WAS_—and regarded his benefactor with aged, golden eyes. "It was his parents," he confided, ever so softly, so that even Kouji could just barely hear him. "His sister died… they loved her so much…they made him…_be _her." He searched the bandit's face for understanding, clear in his shaky explanation that he had not spoken of this much before. Maybe not ever.

An awful twisting of the past. Kouji gave the boy a slight, serious nod, and ruffled the long, brown hair. _This is rebirth…we can't escape our pasts…who we were… what we were…Even when our lives are different…is everything destined to be the same_? 

"Kouji-san," breathed Kai from behind him, "I am…I am _so _sorry…he didn't say anything…I just…assumed…"

"It's all right," Kouji assured him. "It's all right; an honest mistake. Eh…why don't you make sure, though, that all the gang knows, huh? Save us another…scene…like this."

Kai nodded, still looking miserable, and went off, apparently to spread the word.

~*~

"I'm going to find Chichiri," said Tasuki when he and Kouji were alone again. "I'm going to find Chichiri, and I'm takin the kids."

Despite his friend's previous rambling, Kouji was slightly shocked. "What, you mean you're…you're just leaving? With Rishun and whoever else all going berserk on us, you're _leaving_?"

"Damn it, Kouji," Tasuki cursed, but his tone was tired, not biting. "I can't deal with both these things at once. I…I can't stop thinkin about Nuriko and Hotohori and… these kids. So if I leave…if I put you in charge of the band…" He stepped up to the slightly taller man, meeting him eye to eye. "Can you do it?"

__

Could he do it? He remembered the village of Sarasshi, the burned homes, the scattered corpses…he hadn't been there when they had been slain, but he could hear their screams nevertheless…

Kouji set his jaw, gave a firm nod. "Yes. I can do it."

TBC…

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Note to self: **shakes head** Whoah…his parents made him…**shakes head again** That's…like…messed up!! And you used to be such a happy, sappy, light-and-cheerful-character girl… ~.^;;


	3. Ternate Journey

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: I OWN EVERYTHING!!!! AHHH HAH HAH!!!!! THE WORLD BELONGS TO MEEEEE!!!!! **is dragged off by solemn men in white coats**

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Warnings: This is a reincarnation fic, soooooo…if you don't know who dies, you might not wanna read it. ^_^ 

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Notes: Many of you know this from experience, but I would just like to reiterate that it's hard to write realistic kids. ~.^;; 

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Pointless Personal Note: Last night, I dyed my hair purple. Gahhhhh!!!! ~.^;; The weird thing is, I didn't even realize the Nuriko connection until my friend—who dyed her own hair red at the same time—started dancing around going, "Just call me Tasuki! REKKA SHINEN!!!!!!!!" …and I said, "Dear Lord, I've just subconsciously tried to make myself look like Nuriko…" But honestly, my first choice was blue, but they only had navy and I wanted a nicer blue, so I went with purple instead…I didn't do it on purpose!!! I'm not _that _obsessed!!!! I swear!! ~.^;; …anyhoo, on with the story… 

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Three:  
  
Ternate Journey

"Mr. Wolf Fang Man?"

Tasuki winced, glared, and refused to answer.

"Hey…Mr. Wolf Fang…"

But he couldn't keep quiet for long. "_For the LAST TIME_, kid, it's _GENROU_!!!!"

Horyuu blinked, then smiled sweetly. "Um, sorry…"

"Whadda ya want?" the bandit muttered.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to visit a friend of mine."

"How come? And where does he live?"

The truth was, Tasuki didn't exactly _know _where Chichiri was at the moment. The last time he'd seen his old companion had been three years ago: Chichiri had stopped at Mt. Reikaku on his way to Kutou, where he had been planning to work at reconstructing the long-since-defeated nation. So, the three of them—himself, Horyuu, and Kentoku—had been heading east, toward the Konan-Kutou border, for a little over an hour. If nothing else, it was a _start_.

"He lives in Kutou." _Kids need simple answers._

The violet-haired boy, who was perched atop a tall, brown gelding behind his friend, frowned a little. "Hmm, my father said that evil people live in Kutou."

__

Your father also made you dress up like your dead sister, Tasuki thought bitterly. When Kouji had told him what he'd heard regarding Horyuu's family, he had almost been physically sick; if the people hadn't already been dead, he would have jumped at the chance to kill them himself.

"That's not true," said Kentoku, turning his head the slightest bit so that the smaller boy could hear him. "Just because the Emperor of Kutou was evil, it doesn't mean _everybody _there was. And besides, he's dead now. They have a new emperor."

"Well, is he good, or is he evil like the old one?"

"I don't know, but it wouldn't change the _people _not being all evil."

Horyuu giggled, squeezing his friend around the middle. "Ken-chan, you're so smart!!"

"Yes," Kentoku agreed. "My teacher always said so."

Tasuki coughed to hide his smile. _Even if they don't remember who they were, they certainly haven't changed_…

"Mr. Wolf Fang Man, are you _crying_?"

"_No_!!!" Tasuki exclaimed in horror, shooting the boy a furious look. "I'm a freakin _bandit_, kid!!! I don't cry!! And it's _Genrou_, dammit!!! _GENROU!!_"

The small nose crinkled. "It feels funny calling you that." 

"Well then, ya better get used to it; it's my _name_."

"But it's weird," Horyuu said apologetically. "It doesn't fit you, Tasuki…"

~*~

The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back in the grass, staring up at the swirling sky. A silhouetted, shaggy-haired head pushed itself timidly into his field of vision.

"Are you awake?" it whispered.

He blinked rapidly. "Wh…what happened?"

"You fell off your horse," Horyuu explained quietly. "I guess you fainted. Did you have breakfast? Sometimes people faint because they don't eat enough; that's what Ken-chan says, and he's…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," mumbled Tasuki. "He's smart. You…" He groaned as he sat up, holding his head. "You…you called me 'Tasuki.' No one calls me that. How did…." He stopped himself. _How did he know?? Because he KNEW Tasuki…he KNOWS me……Does he remember? DOES he??!_

Horyuu shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "I dunno. You know, there was a Shichiseishi called Tasuki? He had red hair. My father saw him once, during the war with Kutou. He said Tasuki was a guy with fangs and red hair. So you kind of look like him, I guess…"

__

Was it just a story? Was he just remembering a story? Or did he really recognize me…did he really know me back there?

"He won't do it again," Kentoku said quickly. "Genrou. He won't do it again. He didn't mean to make you angry."

The other boy's lavender eyes widened in alarm, as if he hadn't considered the possibility. He shot a nervous look at his friend, then went back to regarding the red-haired bandit warily.

"No…no," Tasuki said. "It's all right." _After all we've done for them, they still don't trust me?! _"Actually, I….I think…I'd like it if you'd call me Tasuki."

Horyuu's eyes grew even larger. "Really?…You sure you don't mind?"

"Hey. Anything's better than bein called 'Mr. Wolf Fang Man,'" he growled. "I mean, how'd _you _like it if I started callin ya 'Little Mole Boy,' or somethin?!"

"Tasuki!" The child was practically bouncing with excitement. "Can we pretend you're the _real _Tasuki??? We can pretend we're Suzaku no Shichiseishi going to Kutou to fight!! Ken-chan and I do it all the time, but now we've got you and we're really going to Kutou!"

Tasuki looked over at Kentoku, slightly overwhelmed. "You two… pretend you're Shichiseishi?"

Kentoku looked slightly embarrassed, but Horyuu nodded vehemently, grinning. 

He cleared his throat, feeling distressingly maudlin. "Ah…so……who do you pretend to be?" _As if I didn't already know the answer…just need to hear them say it_…

But the response was…rather different than he'd expected. "Ken-chan's Tamahome, and I'm Mitsukake! He's so cool!" Horyuu raised his hand up dramatically and struck a heroic pose. "_GREAT HEALING POWERRRRR!!!!!!_"

Tasuki blinked. "M-Mitsukake?…"

"He could heal _anything_!! He just held up his hand and did it! I wish I had his power, then I could save people who were sick or hurt in a war or hit by c-carts and, and he had a cat, too, and I like cats."

The golden-eyed boy shot Tasuki a sympathetic look. "Um, he…really gets into it," he mumbled.

To someone who had known who the two children really _had _been, it was bizarre, to say the least, to hear that they had pretended to be _other _members of the group. But the more Tasuki thought about it, the more it made sense. Nuriko probably would have loved to have had Mitsukake's powers instead of his own; that way, he could have healed his sister, and saved himself a lot of trauma and guilt…Hotohori, likewise, would have enjoyed being the one who, in the end, wound up with the woman he loved.

As they headed out once more, he came to the tentative conclusion that Horyuu and Kentoku didn't _really _remember their past lives, but that they thought, acted, and felt the same as the men they had once been….that's what the soul was, after all, wasn't it? The way you felt…the way you _lived_.

__

Chichiri, he thought, _should I tell them? Should I help them remember? Do you know the answer any better than I do? I hope so…I hope so._

~*~

The huge boy stood before Kouji, eyes wise and solemn. 

"You know why I want you, and not someone else?" the blue-haired bandit asked. 

With a nod, the boy replied, "Because I'm big, and strong…and Rishun doesn't know me."

"Shi," Kouji said seriously, "I won't lie to you; this could be dangerous. Rishun isn't what one would call a particularly nice guy. But you have the look of the type he's recruiting, and you have the intelligence we need to be able to find out what he's up to without him getting wind of it. You can refuse, and no one'll think the worse of you, least of all me."

"I'll do it." Shi gave a slight nod. "Of course, I'll do it; my debt will be paid." 

__

My debt will be paid, in part…and maybe…maybe I'll be able to live with myself…

~*~

With a jolt, Chiyu sat up in bed, a feeling of urgency tugging at his heart. He looked quickly over at his sister in the bed across from him; she still slept soundly, peaceful, angelic.

__

There's somewhere I need to go, he thought in confusion. _There's somewhere I need to be. _

And then, in a sudden flash, the answer came.

__

Kutou.

I need to go to Kutou…

~*~

Looking down upon the sleeping town of Manpei, Rishun laughed quietly to himself. _They won't have any idea, _he mused, _they'll be so surprised, they won't know what hit them…we'll take them. We'll take them all.._

The laughing mouth twisted into a sneer, and with a single, silent, sharp movement, he motioned for his men to move in.

__

The streets will flow with blood tonight…

TBC…

Who is Chiyu????? Who is Shi???? What the heck do they have to do with anything????? …I'm just trying to make the plot thicken and the Respected Readers curious…did it work? ^_^ 

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Final Question: What the heck does 'Ternate' _mean_, anyway???!!! ….Well, I'll tell ya!! It means "Three-fold" or "Tripartite…" but I didn't want to call Chapter Three "Three-fold Journey," and "Tripartite" would sound…I dunno…too Roman, or something. SO, thanks to my special friend the Mircrosoft Word Thesaurus, I have learned a useful new word!! Expand your vocabulary: try to use 'Ternate' in normal conversation at least five times today. ~.^;; or maybe not. ^_^ j/k. Thanks for reading!


	4. The Streets of Kutou

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: I wonder, can I own their incarnations without owning _them_? **scratches head** 

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Warnings: Here is a _ternate _warning that I shall present in a very _ternate _manner: One, the _ternate _journey is no longer _ternate_, but, by the end of the chapter, perhaps _more _than _ternate. _Two, the story itself is no longer _ternate_, because naturally, this is Chapter Four. Three, outside of this silly Warning, the word _ternate _is not used once in the entire chapter. If you think you can survive without anything being _ternate_, then by all means, continue reading. If not, you may choose to keep this story in its _ternate _form simply by not reading past the third chapter.

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Lesson of the Day: Purple Mouse thinks she's really funny by actually attempting to use the word "ternate" like she joked everyone should do back at the end of Chapter Three. However, she is _not _funny, but rather, deeply troubled and in need of serious help. ^_^ Anyhoo, thanks for reading! Hope you guys like it!

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Four:

The Streets of Kutou

"And so, the lesson is that, ultimately, good will always triumph over evil, na no da," said the teacher at the front of the run-down building. "The Four Gods are equally powerful, no da…but they are neither good nor evil, no da. When it comes down to it, it's the men who follow the Gods that can be cruel." He looked around at his ragged students, inwardly noting that their number had been dwindling in the past few days. "Are there any questions, no da?"

Several hands were raised, eager faces shone up at him. Smiling, Chichiri nodded at a little girl with green eyes.

"So if good always wins, does that mean the people here were evil during the war?" she asked shyly.

"No, not at all, no da," the monk told her kindly. "Sometimes it only takes one or two evil men to make hundreds of people suffer, na no da." He scanned the room again, and was about to call on a tall young man with scabs on his face, when he spotted movement from the back of the room.

It was a small boy, thin and pale, dressed in a dirty, torn tunic that might once have been gray. His hand was raised almost delicately, his yellow-gold eyes staring up at Chichiri with an almost profound sadness.

"Euh, Gen'ei?" Chichiri motioned for him to speak, more than slightly astonished to see the child volunteering. He didn't think he'd ever heard his voice; the priest who ran the shabby orphanage from whence his schoolhouse of ragamuffins came had had similar luck with the lad.

Gen'ei lowered his hand slowly, blinking as though startled to be noticed. When it was carefully folded in his lap, he took a few deep breaths before he asked his question. "What…what if you don't know you're evil?"

Somewhere, far away, a cow bell rang, calling to the children that it was time for the noon meal. With a few words, Chichiri dismissed them; but Gen'ei stayed after the others had left, as the monk had somehow known he would.

The boy's eyes had closed, and he squeezed his hands together. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, it's all right, no da," Chichiri assured him gently, moving to the back of the school to sit on the bench beside him. "I'm just not sure if I know what you mean, no da."

"I-I mean," Gen'ei began, his voice shaking a tiny bit, "what if…what if someone thought he was doing the right thing…but then it turned out that he'd been fooled all along? Would he be…would he be evil?"

Overcoming his surprise at the unexpected query, Chichiri reached out and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Gen'ei…I don't know quite what you're thinking, no da," he said carefully, "but I would hope that such people would be forgiven, no da."

Gen'ei stiffened, then rose slowly. "I think…you're wrong, Sensei," he said sadly. 

Then, without another word, he turned and stepped out the door, leaving a somewhat disturbed monk behind him.

~*~

The city stood before them in near-shambles, the streets littered with rubble and filth.

"Are you _sure _your friend lives in Kutou?" Horyuu whispered loudly.

"I'm _sure_, dammit!!" Tasuki bellowed. _Because he would've told me if he was going somewhere else; I'm sure of it_. But if the entire city was like this, he couldn't imagine Chichiri living there for two whole years! "Whatever happened to the freakin _rebuilding _that was supposed to happen here?!"

"I don't think it worked," frowned the purple-haired boy.

"_No shit_."

"The emperor must not be very effective," said Kentoku. "It's been twelve whole years since the war. I bet if Emperor Boushin were the Emperor of Kutou, he would have fixed _everything_."

"Hn," said Tasuki. "Yeah…for a kid, he's done a pretty good job of…" _Holy crap! Boushin's his SON!!! _"Of, uh, doing stuff," he finished weakly.

Kentoku shot him a look, raising a slim eyebrow.

"Well…c'mon," Tasuki muttered, nudging his horse forward. 

"He's kinda weird, but he's funny!" Horyuu giggled quietly to his friend. "I like him! Don't you like him, Ken-chan?"

At the gates, Tasuki attempted to convince the guards that they were just visiting a friend…which was _true_, after all. The hardened men were nonetheless skeptical at first, but relented when the bandit pointed out the innocent faces of the children. Kentoku just sat there calmly, but Horyuu played the part perfectly, flashing giant, lavender puppy eyes to the guard and rubbing them with his small fist. 

"Aniki, I'm _TI-urrrrd_!!! Will we be there soon?"

That made the senior guard smile slightly—the expression looked strange on his serious, severe face—and jerked his head toward the city. "Why you wanna bring kids in here is beyond me," he said, "but…go on in, if it's that important."

"Nice job," Tasuki congratulated under his breath as they entered.

Horyuu gave him a huge grin and winked.

"I should have contributed," said Kentoku. "I'm very cute."

Forcing himself (with difficulty) not to roll his eyes, Tasuki peered up and down the unkempt streets before him. _Now, if I were a weird monk with blue hair, where would I be?…_

"So where does your friend live?" Horyuu wondered. "I hope his house isn't one of these that fell down."

"Heh heh…he's right…ahhh…." _Right, left, straight? Right, left, straight?_ "Right down this way!!" He steered his horse to the left, hoping that, somehow, the blind decision was based on some sort of psychic connection he might possibly share with his fellow shichiseishi. An easier, more foolproof method, of course, would be to stand in his stirrups, scream "CHICHIRI!!! WHERE ARE YOU??!!" at the top of his lungs, and wait for the freaking monk to come to _him_; however, unfortunately, such a tactic did not seem at all practical, and might win them a good deal of negative attention. 

All he could do was hope he would be lucky.

~*~

Three hours later, he was _really _pissed off.

"Maybe he moved," Kentoku suggested. 

"Gahhhhhh, _no_!! He would've _told _me if he'd left Kutou!!" Tasuki insisted. "Ah, dammit, Chichiri!!!!"

"His name's Chichiri? Is that _really _his name?" Horyuu was bouncing again. "Or is it just a nickname, like we call you Tasuki, Tasuki?"

"_Tasuki_!!!!" hissed a voice.

"All _right_, all _right_!" Tasuki exclaimed. "Ya don't have to keep _demonstratin_, okay??"

"_TASUKI_, _no da_!!!" the voice came again.

"_Dammit_, what did I just…" He paused in mid-rant, mouth hanging open. "Euhh??"

Kentoku cleared his throat, raised a hand, and pointed to the house behind the red-haired bandit. "Someone's calling you."

Twisting on his horse, Tasuki turned to see a familiar, blue-haired figure standing in the doorway of the small home.

"Ch-Chichiri!"

"_Tasuki, what do you think you're doing, screaming my name in the street when decent people are asleep, no da?_" Chichiri whispered frantically.

"Well, gee, I've been _fine_ these past two years, how about _you_??" the bandit said with bitter sarcasm.

The monk rolled his eyes. "_All RIGHT, no da…but can you try not to SHOUT, na no da?! Bring your horses around to the back, and come inside…and who's that with you, no da_?"

Tasuki gave him a small smile. "This is Kentoku…" he gestured to the golden-eyed boy, "…and this is Horyuu. I…I thought ya might like to meet 'em."

Chichiri regarded the two children as if seeing them for the first time. After what seemed like an eternity, he said quietly, "Yes. Of course, no da…go around back and tie up your horses, and come inside…"

~*~

He had left the previous morning, without telling his parents…he would have told his sister, but he was afraid she would have gotten in trouble if she'd known anything. He was on foot, not having wanted to deprive his family of their only horse; already, his feet had begun to ache.

__

Have to go to Kutou…but why? Chiyu asked himself, more confused than he had ever been in his short life. _Why is it so important? Why?_

He got no answers, but then again, he didn't really expect any. 

__

I guess I'll find out when I get there. _I hope my parents don't worry too much_.

Perhaps he _should _have left a message, just to say he was all right…but then they could have followed him—they'd have overtaken him in no time with the horse and cart—and made him come home. And he _couldn't _go back home. Whatever it was that was calling him, it was too important. 

He sighed, gritted his teeth against the pain in his feet, and trudged onward into the night.

~*~

Meanwhile, in the palace of Konan, another soul was beckoned…
__

They're calling me. They're calling me again…

He couldn't remember the other time, only that there _had been _another time… he had been needed, and he had come…had dropped everything and come. 

__

I have to leave, and soon. I have to be there.

In Kutou. 

TBC….

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Notes: Ahh, Gen'ei…The plot thickens. ^_^ Bwah hah. I'm having fun with this!! ^_^ A big thank you to everyone who's been reviewing me!! **THANK YOU!!! **^_^ (It would've been bigger, but I don't wanna screw around with the font size cuz it could turn on me. So just imagine it's really big. Or print out a sheet of paper with **THANK YOU!!! **written with size 72 font, and pretend it's from me. I was thinking about hiring an airplane with a big sign behind it, but then I remembered I'm poor. ^_^ But you get the point. I really appreciate it! ^_^ ^_^ 


	5. Faces of the Past and Present

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: See Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4. Nothing's changed. ^_^

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Warnings: I guess it gets kinda angsty in parts. I don't know if that's a good warning, but I was compelled to write _something_.

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Notes: Dude!!! Thinking of the chapter titles is really freakin hard!!! ~.^;; I'm sure I'm not alone on this.

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Five:

Faces of the Past 

and Present

Rishun stood in the middle of the burning village, watching the destruction that he had caused, the power he held in full effect. There were only a few men who had been left alive: the strong ones, the ones who were too big and too stupid to do anything but obey him. As much as he loathed the idea of letting the infidels live, if he were to succeed in his goal, he needed much more than a simple group of bandits. He needed an army. Easily controlled. Unbeatable.

When he had made the necessary threats to the survivors and had them taken away, two of his "commanders" approached him tentatively. Between them, they held a huge, muscular boy of seventeen or so, with a shock of blue-gray hair; given the size of the lad, he thought he could easily have escaped if he'd wanted.

"And who's this?" Rishun asked in his quiet, almost lilting voice.

"We found him lurking back behind the camp, Sir," said Ugou. "Don't know who he is."

The rebel bandit turned black eyes to the young face, a silent order to explain himself.

"I heard rumors that you needed men, is all," said the boy indignantly. "I'm sick of being a freakin farmer. I wanna fight. With you."

"_For _me," Rishun corrected. "From what land do you hail, boy?"

The young man looked confused at the question. "From Kutou, Sir."

"Kutou. A child of the war."

A small nod was his answer.

"Release his arms; it's pointless, anyway," Rishun ordered, and was obeyed. He turned his attention back to his 'visitor.' "It is good that you come from Kutou. We are of a kind, you and I. Of a race. We have been slighted; beaten, like animals. But soon, they will know how very powerful we are."

"I hope so, sir," said the boy with malice. 

Hmm. A bloodthirsty one. All the better. 

"Good," said Rishun, laughing slightly under his breath. "_Good_."

~*~

He had joined the Mt. Reikaku Bandits because of a debt. A debt he could never hope to repay. 

And now, the chance to atone for the smallest of his crimes had finally come. He would be useful. He would prove to the world—and to himself—that he was penitent, that he had changed; somehow, he would try to replace all the evil he had done with good. 

But it would not change what he had done. He knew that, and it tore into him like a wire cord around his neck.

At the sight of the carnage done by Rishun and his men, Shi felt almost violently ill. He could _never _do this, could _never _cause so much pain…and yet, as a 'soldier,' it would be expected of him. And he couldn't ignore it. Too much rested on him playing the part, becoming the angry, abused killer that Rishun thought he was. In truth, he deserved it; he could think of nothing worse, and nothing more fitting, for a punishment. 

__

Forced to kill against my will to repent having killed in cold blood, he thought bitterly. _The fates love irony. _

He hadn't lied about coming from Kutou, though the question had thrown him off guard, and he had considered claiming Hokkan or Konan as his birthplace as a shield to his true identity. Knowing now a bit more of the reasoning behind Rishun's murderous behavior, he was glad he'd opted for the truth. The reasons themselves, however, did nothing to ease his worries. 

__

Kutou's citizens as a superior race, huh? Shi clenched his teeth grimly. _This could be worse than we thought…he's not playing around. _

That night, his first night as a Redeemer (for that was what the men called themselves), he dug a hole secretly in the ground. In it, he placed a roll of parchment inscribed with what he'd learned; the Mt. Reikaku bandits had their own special code, which had proved very useful in the past, but had never been used for a purpose quite as important as this. He covered the hole carefully with a smooth, gray rock, flanked on two sides by twigs, for Asaku and the scouting party to find.

Finding it was easy, if you knew what you were looking for.

~*~

"But, why must you go?" the emperor asked. "I don't understand. Don't you like it here?"

"Of course! Of _course_," said Shunshuu quickly. "But I…I just have to go away for a while. I'll come back, I promise I will."

Boushin sighed. "You're like my brother, you know…even before my mother… I don't know how I could have survived without you. I would have been so _lonely_."

The two boys hadn't been apart for more than a few hours, not since Shunshuu's mother—a lady of the court—had died, and the Imperial Mother Houki-sama had taken him as one of her own. That had been nearly five years ago.

"What will I tell Mother?"

Shunshuu shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I don't know how to explain anything. I feel like someone, or some_thing_, is _calling_ me…and I can't just pretend I don't hear it."

Large, gold eyes regarded him sadly.

"I'll come back, Boushin-sama," the younger boy repeated. "As soon as I do whatever it is I need to do."

Boushin sighed. "I wish I could come with you. It seems like I _never _get to leave the palace anymore. How can I make important decisions without you there? You've always been so much smarter than me."

"You'll be fine," Shunshuu assured him with a smile. "You're just as smart as I am. You know what you're doing. I have faith in you."

Slowly, almost reluctantly, the child emperor returned the smile. "And I have faith in you," he said softly. "Be careful, Shunshuu-kun."

~*~

The small house in Kutou was as chipped and unkempt as the others, but somehow, it radiated a glow of comfort. Chichiri had put tea on to boil, and the whole room smelled of ginger.

It had taken a while before the monk could bring himself to speak to the two children, so familiar in their looks and mannerisms. So the four sipped their tea in silence; just as Tasuki was about to swat his old friend on the head and tell him to _say something_, already, Chichiri raised his eyes and smiled.

"So, no da…" he cleared his throat. "You two are from Konan, no da?"

Horyuu and Kentoku both nodded, looking exhausted.

"Is your name really Chichiri?" said Horyuu sleepily.

"Ahh…why yes, no da." Chichiri raised an eyebrow at Tasuki, who shrugged. "I'm surprised Tasuki didn't explain everything, na no da."

That earned him a scowl from the red-haired bandit.

"He said your name was Chichiri, and that no one called him Tasuki, but we could pretend he was the real Tasuki…Can we pretend…you're the real………"

"Horyuu, are you tired, no da?" the monk asked.

"He's _asleep_, Wise One," Tasuki remarked.

The purple-haired boy was out cold, his head half on the table and half pillowed on Kentoku's arm. Kentoku himself was blinking rapidly, trying to stay awake.

"Shouldn't have started this so late, no da," Chichiri sighed, rising from his seat. "Come on, Tasuki-kun; let's get them to bed, no da."

Tasuki carried the sleeping Horyuu to the tiny bedroom and deposited him gently onto the bed; Kentoku followed groggily and climbed in beside his friend. The monk and the bandit stood by and watched them for a good ten minutes, both fascinated and almost tearfully sentimental.

"Well," Tasuki said finally, breaking the silence, "it only took ten freakin years and a reincarnation, but the two of them are finally sleepin together."

Chichiri gave his friend a look.

Eyes wide, the bandit adopted an innocent expression. "What?"

"Tasuki, no da…" The monk sighed and shook his head, but in the end, he couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "Let's go back out there, and we can talk, no da."

Smiling, scratching the back of his neck, Tasuki followed Chichiri out of the bedroom. "I thought it was a pretty appropriate joke…Nuriko would've…"

"Shut up, Tasuki, na no da."

~*~

In the cold, bare sleeping room of the Kutou Orphanage, Gen'ei lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. Not that it was anything new. When he _did _sleep, he had the most awful nightmares…he had often thought that he'd rather be dead, than to continue on like this.

__

But if I die, I'll just come back again…and it'll be the same.

Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, running down into the curves of his ears. 

__

I'm evil, I'm evil, I'm evil…No matter what I believed, the memories are proof enough. I'm being punished. I'm evil. 

He closed his eyes and shivered, and wondered if he were the only one.

TBC…

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Notes: Sorry for the conglomerate style recently. It'll be easier when everyone comes together! (insert Beatles song/Aerosmith remake here) And wow, this story's really running away with me. It was only supposed to be, um…maybe two chapters? Tasuki was gonna find Nuriko and Hotohori as kids, and that's _all_. Now it's going all epic adventurey. [!!!] But I'm glad you guys seem to like it. ^_^

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Advice of the Day: If, by some fluke, you ever have to write a German essay about music, _do not do it _at one o'clock in the morning. Somewhere along the line I found myself trying to translate 'Modern Major General' (from 'The Pirates of Penzance') into German. It was an interesting tangent, but in the end, rather difficult and pointless. ~.^;;


	6. Friends and Enemies

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: You know the drill.

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Warnings: None. (Gah!!) Ooh, wait, I have one: Beware of Stupid Chapter Title!!! Also: drama drama drama. Ist das gut? Schlecht? Wenn man Drama liebt, liebt man dieses Kapitel. Mental note: I should really watch Weiß Kreuz. When the heck does it come out on video, anyway? (Okay…_that _was random. I guess I panicked because I didn't have enough to write under 'Warnings.' Tsk, tsk, tsk.)

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Last Minute Note: I have 100 reviews!!!!!!!!!! Altogether, that is. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ **dance, dance, dance** Woo-hoo!!! Thank you, everybody! **dance, dance, dance** **falls asleep at computer** **snores**

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Six:

Friends and Enemies

"You didn't tell them, no da," said Chichiri, sitting back down at the wooden table.

Tasuki was more than a bit annoyed. "_No_, I _didn't _tell 'em! I didn't freakin tell 'em! For your information, I wanted to get _your _opinion before doin something that could mess them up in the head! What, ya think I took a fieldtrip all the way out here in the middle of a possible bandit war just for the _hell _of it?!"

"I wasn't accusing you of anything, na no da," his friend sighed, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to make _sure_, no da." _Bandit war?…No, not now…later. I'll ask him about that later._

The younger man collapsed on the bench, holding his head up with both hands. "Sorry…It's just…"

"It's a lot to deal with," Chichiri said sympathetically. "I understand, no da. You're sure it's them?" 

Tasuki nodded. "It's eerie. Almost like it would've been if I'd known them as kids. And there're things that stayed the same…Nur…Horyuu's parents _made_ him dress up as his sister when she died, this time. Which reminds me…he _is _a boy. Just in case there was any question about it."

"They _made _him…?" Chichiri shook his head. "That's messed up, no da."

"Thanks for clearin that up, _pal_."

"And they don't know who you really are, either?"

"Nope. _Again_, I wanted to check things out with you first." Tasuki lay his chin on his hands. "Ya think we _should _tell 'em?"

The monk frowned at the table. "It's a delicate question, no da…"

"Think they'd remember, if we prodded them a little? Horyuu called me Tasuki. On the way here. I yelled at him for not rememberin 'Genrou,' and he said, 'It feels weird to call ya Genrou; it doesn't fit ya, Tasuki.' Said it was because his parents saw 'The Real Tasuki' back during the war, and I looked like their description of me…but I can't help but think it could be more than that. They don't _know _they remember, but they might on some sort of subconscious level…"

"That wouldn't be irregular, no da…" Chichiri began, but trailed off. "Did you just say 'subconscious,' no da?"

Tasuki glowered. "_NO_!"

"You _did_, no da!!"

"_NO_!! I'm a _bandit_!! Bandits don't use big words!"

Chichiri grinned evilly. "You're a _smart bandit_, na no da!!"

"Dammit…_shut up_!!"

They were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.

Tasuki's eyes widened, and he stared at his friend, an unspoken question. But Chichiri was just as surprised as he was. Slowly, he got up, moved to the door, and put a hand on the knob; Tasuki followed briskly, standing defensively beside the monk. 

"What are you doing, no da? I'm sure it's all right," Chichiri hissed.

"It's after midnight!" Tasuki protested, refusing to back up. "Can't be too safe, even when yer you."

Shaking his head, the older man opened the door, and was astounded by what stood before him.

"G-Gen'ei?"

~*~

The boy trembled with the chill of night, and looked visibly startled upon seeing another man in the house behind his teacher. He took a small step backward. "S-sorry," he whispered. "S-sorry, I'll…I'll come back a different time…"

"No, Gen'ei…wait, no da," Chichiri insisted, reaching out and gently grabbing his arm. "It's all right." _How did he get out of the orphanage?…Well, that's not important now; what's important is WHY he came here_. "Come inside…you're freezing, na no da; would you like some tea?"

Gen'ei shook his head, but walked carefully into the small house, keeping wary eyes on Tasuki. The red-haired man, aware that he was making the child uncomfortable, mumbled something about checking on the kids and left the room.

"What's wrong?" Chichiri asked solemnly as he settled his student in a chair.

The boy sat there rigidly, playing with his hands. "I…I couldn't sleep."

__

But there's more to it than that. "Does this happen a lot?"

A nod.

"Why did you come to see _me_, no da?" The monk tried hard to keep his voice as unthreatening as possible, feeling as though his visitor would bolt in an instant if confronted. "It's a long way from the Home, no da."

Taking a deep breath, Gen'ei closed his eyes. "Because…you're the only one who can help me."

"…What can I help you do?" 

After a slight pause, he replied faintly: "Tell me what I have to do…tell me how I can stop being evil."

"Gen'ei," breathed Chichiri, kneeling before the boy. "I don't know what gave you this idea, no da. But you are _not evil_, na no da. No one as young as you can be evil."

The small lips tightened in pain. "I am. I _was_. That's why I see things, things I did…_horrible _things…and I know I remember them for a reason, and I know I have to make up for them somehow. And that's why I need _you_."

At a loss, Chichiri could only study the boy's pale features in puzzlement, the thin, childish face that held on to control with no more than a silken thread. "Why _me_?" he whispered finally.

Silence. 

Then, Gen'ei lifted his eyes slowly, with an almost poignant grace, and stared straight into those of his teacher. "I know who you are, Sensei," he said quietly.

~*~

Chichiri felt some of the color drain from his face at the words. Since coming to Kutou, he had assumed his real name—Ri Houjun—and had said nothing of his connections with the Suzaku Shichiseishi; to do so, he had believed, would perhaps have stained his reputation in the city, brought him unwelcome attention. All he had wanted to do was to help the children who had suffered, and to do that, he did not need recognition. And the last thing Kutou probably wanted would be a famous Konan warrior "stooping" to help its citizens; no, they would want to prove they could take care of their own after the crisis, however incapable they actually were. So he hadn't told anyone about himself. No one at all.

But the boy…the boy…

"Chichiri, Suzaku no Shichiseishi," Gen'ei whispered brokenly, lower lip trembling against his will, "help me. _Please_. Tell me what I have to do."

And suddenly, it dawned on him. 

"Who are you? Who _were _you?" the monk murmured, taking the small hands in his own so the child would know he _was _trying to help. _He's remembering a past life… he MUST be! But WHY?? Why does he remember, when Horyuu and Kentoku do not?! Who was he, to deserve this?_ A thousand possibilities flashed before his eyes,awful possibilities…despite what he might have done in the past, this innocent child, this new life, did not deserve to suffer the pain of ancient memories! _What does he remember?! Who WAS HE???_

"Your enemy." Silently, the tears began to fall. "I was your enemy. I remember… tricking you, nearly killing you all…Wanting to do unspeakable things, because I thought it was right…Trying to lose you all…in an illusion…"

__

It's him. It's…

"Tomo." 

__

He remembers……Everything.

"Seiryuu no Shichiseishi...You were Tomo."

~*~

The road was endless. 

He needed food, water, sleep…and his feet were _killing _him…but inside, he knew that these things paled to the importance of his journey.

"Stupid," Chiyu panted, swiping the dark hair from his forehead. "You have to eat something. It won't do any good if you get to Kutou and you pass out."

Since food was not an option at that time—he hadn't thought to bring any with him, and he was miles away from a city or village—he opted for rest. Leaning back against the trunk of a large tree, he closed his eyes and let out a tiny groan.

__

I didn't know traveling was so HARD…

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he was awakened by something poking his shoulder. Squinting, he found himself peering up into a pair of large, green eyes; the eyes, he found, belonged to a boy not much younger than himself (though a great deal smaller), with longish, light brown hair and a worried expression on his face.

The worry immediately cleared up when Chiyu awoke, and the strange little boy smiled. "Ah, you're alive! I was worried. I saw you lying there, and feared the worst."

__

Fancy clothes. Hmph. Must be a royal.

"I-I'm sorry, My Lord," Chiyu said, scrambling to his knees.

"Goodness!" said the strange little boy. "Don't call me that! It's strange. I'm _not _a lord. I'm just a boy. Like you."

"Then why are you wearing such nice clothing?"

He looked down at his tunic, seeming embarrassed. "Uh, well….I was informed that these were peasants clothes."

"You were _informed_?"

"Drat," he frowned. "They're not?"

Chiyu laughed. "Not unless the peasant stole them from a merchant's cart. You don't see a lot of silk in the country."

"Ah, well…" the boy mumbled. "Well, anyway, are you hungry? You look hungry. I have plenty of food, if you'd like some."

"I'd _love _some," said Chiyu, beginning to _really _like this strange noble-in-disguise. 

"Well, come on…it's in my saddlebag. Do you live around here?" he asked as they walked over to the dun mare grazing at the side of the road.

"Not really. I'm on my way to Kutou."

The strange boy froze and turned to him, green eyes wide. "Kutou?"

Chiyu nodded. "That's right." _Something in his eyes…Did he get the message, too? _"Did you…"

"_I'm _going to Kutou," the child said solemnly. "I was called. Were you called?"

With a nod, the bigger boy gaped. "I can't believe it!"

"There are more of us, you know."

"….I know."

"I'm Shunshuu," said the green-eyed traveler. 

"Chiyu."

"It would make sense for us to travel together now, wouldn't it?"

Chiyu nodded, and broke into a grin. "I'm _so _glad you have a horse."

TBC… ****

Notes: Okay, raise your hands, those of you who saw the Gen'ei/Tomo thing coming!!! I dunno if it was really obvious or not; it's kinda hard to tell when you're writing it and you know from the start who it is. ^_^ I think everyone can pretty much figure out Chiyu and Shunshuu by now, too… Shi might be a little tougher, I guess, but like I said, it's hard for me to tell. ^_^ Thanks, everyone who's reading this! Hope you guys have a good weekend!

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Aussi: il faut que je fasse mon examen pour mon cours de français. C'est nul. J'ai pas envie de le faire. Why am I writing in foreign languages? 1) It's 4:00 in the morning. 2) I'm getting in the mood to actually _do _my French midterm. 3) It makes me feel special and important. 4) I'm a spazz. 


	7. Revelations

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: Dammit. You should know by now. ^_^

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Warnings: MORE drama!!! (People who Like Drama: YAAAAYYYY!!! People who Don't: **grumble grumble grumble**)

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Seven:

Revelations

Tasuki closed the door behind him, shaking his head. All that worry over a kid. Sure, it'd been a _weird _kid, but _still_…he felt kind of silly. Here he'd been expecting anyone from the Kutou Royal Guard to freakin Rishun and his lackeys, and it had turned out to be some ten-year-old seeking a sympathetic shoulder. _Heh. All this fightin evil's made me paranoid. Gen-chan, ya gotta realize that the whole world ain't full of insane wizards tryin to make themselves gods. Though it might take some time to convince yerself otherwise, given all the shit you've been through…first Nakago, then Tenkou, crap, no wonder you're so jittery._

He leaned against the wall, glancing over at Horyuu and Kentoku on the bed; they were still dozing peacefully, though Horyuu had unconsciously flung his arm across his friend's face. With a small snort of laughter, he moved over and gently placed the errant limb on the small boy's chest. _Can't have you suffocatin yer buddy in his sleep, huh?…_

But as soon as he had released it, the arm went right back to where it had been.

The bandit stared, then frowned and moved it back. Promptly, the child flipped his arm back over Kentoku's nose.

"Dammit," Tasuki muttered, took Horyuu's hand, and pressed it down firmly against its owner's body. "Stay down."

Horyuu frowned in his sleep, sighed, and turned over to face the wall. "Mmmm, st'ppit…go 'way, Miaka…"

For a long moment, the world went numb.

__

WHAT did he say???!! Tasuki stood as if paralyzed, eyes bugging out and mouth gaping open. _He DOES remember!!! He HAS to, he HAS to!! _He grabbed the slim shoulder and shook it, trying to rouse the child. "Horyuu!! Wake up, c'mon!! _Wake up_!!"

"Wha…?" said Kentoku sleepily, jolted awake by the movement beside him. "What's wrong? What's wrong with Horyuu?"

"Help me wake him up!"

Kentoku shrugged. "He's a very deep sleeper…"

The purple-haired boy curled up more tightly. "Jus' wan' sleep…find y'r own breakf'st…"

"Horyuu!" Tasuki crawled onto the bed, taking both shoulders in his hands and shaking the kid slightly. _Man, this is really weirdin me out! _"Please, wake up, dammit!! Tell me what you remember!"

"T-Tasuki-san?" Beside him, Kentoku's eyes were wide with confusion; then, the golden-eyed boy frowned and latched onto Tasuki's arm. "Stop it, Tasuki-san! Leave him alone! _Stop _it!!"

The door opened quickly, and Chichiri was there, gazing in alarm at the scene before him. Then, in an instant, he'd rushed to his friend's side, seized him, and pulled him back. "Tasuki! What's gotten into you, no da?!"

"He remembers Miaka!" Tasuki struggled. "He was talkin to her in his sleep; he remembers! I have to wake him up before he forgets…"

"Calm down, no da," Chichiri attempted to soothe the man, still not letting him go. "You're going crazy!"

But Tasuki continued to strain against him. "Wake up!" he called desperately. "_Nuriko_!!"

The name echoed hollowly in the confines of the room as the bandit suddenly froze. _Wh…what did I…I didn't mean to say…it just…_

Silently, they watched Horyuu's eyelids flutter and open. The lavender eyes stared up at the ceiling, adjusting to the faint light; then, the boy raised himself into a sitting position and rubbed his nose, peering around the room with a wide yawn. He blinked as he noticed his four friends watching him, and lowered his hand.

"Are you guys okay? I-I thought I heard someone call me." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm hard to wake up, sorry; Ken-chan usually just throws water on me…"

Tasuki felt his knees weaken, and he clutched Chichiri's shoulder for support; Horyuu shot a nervous glance at Kentoku, who was staring regally, jaw firmly set, at the bandit and the monk.

"What did you call him?" he inquired calmly, his voice quiet, but full of the inbred authority even death could not take from him.

"_Nuriko_."

Four heads turned to the open door; four sets of eyes fell to rest on a slight, trembling form.

Gen'ei was smiling faintly, looking from Horyuu to Kentoku and back again. "I'm not the only one…I'm not," he whispered, and folded slowly to the floor.

~*~

"He's _Tomo_," Tasuki said incredulously. "Are you freakin _kidding _me?!"

Chichiri drew the sheets over Gen'ei's unconscious form, smoothing the unruly hair back from the boy's ashen face. "I'm not. He _is _Tomo…but he's _not_, no da. He's Gen'ei, but he has Tomo's memories."

"But he's Tomo's reincarnation."

"I would assume so, no da." The monk sighed. "It's terrible. He's just a child, an innocent child…and he remembers doing the most awful things, na no da."

"So how come he remembers and our two don't?" demanded Tasuki. _At least, not when they're awake…_

"I don't know, no da…But it could possibly be that…" He trailed off, sensing someone's eyes on them. Simultaneously, the two friends twisted to see Horyuu and Kentoku standing in the corner, clinging to each other. Well, Horyuu was really the only one doing the clinging; Kentoku was trying to be strong, as usual. 

Tasuki grinned at them forcedly. "Oiiiiiii, kiddos! Eh…sorry…heh heh, you guys…all right?"

"Nuriko. One of the Suzaku Shichiseishi," Kentoku said coldly. "You called Horyuu Nuriko. Why?"

The purple-haired boy's eyes were huge, and he gazed at his friend in puzzlement and what might have been a tiny bit of fear.

Stepping carefully over to the children, Chichiri stopped when he saw the larger boy tense. "Listen, no da," he said quietly, "we have to talk to you. There are things you should know…things we ought to tell you."

Tasuki was at his side in a flash. "Are you _sure _about this?" he hissed. "We won't screw 'em up if we tell 'em?! Look at _that _kid…" he gestured to Gen'ei. "Look what his freakin memories have done to _him_!"

"That's different, no da," the monk replied. "He has memories of torturing and deceiving people, no da…Hotohori's and Nuriko's would be different!"

"Excuse me," said Kentoku. "I believe you mean to be speaking to _us_?"

Chichiri nodded reassuringly at his friend, then moved to kneel before the two in the corner. "Horyuu, Kentoku, no da……" Lavender and golden eyes regarded him expectantly, one pair nervous, the other hard. "Tasuki has not been entirely truthful with you, na no da."

Behind him, Tasuki let out a small squeak of indignation, which the monk promptly ignored.

"He really _is _the Tasuki from the legends," Chichiri continued. "A Star of Suzaku, no da. And I am Chichiri. The real one." He winked at Horyuu.

He let that sink in, hoping for the best. _So far, so good, no da…_

"You…are?" breathed Horyuu.

The monk nodded.

"That's fine," said Kentoku stubbornly, "but you didn't answer my question."

"Yes, no da…well…I was getting to that…" Chichiri took a deep breath. "You've heard the stories, I'm sure, no da, and you know that our friends, the rest of the Suzaku Shichiseishi, are dead." He waited for a response, and received two brief nods. "Ten years ago, we fought an evil demon named Tenkou, who was preventing our friends from being reborn into this world…"

"But then you beat him, and the barrier was broken, right?" said Horyuu in a small voice.

Chichiri smiled. "That's right. We know our friends have been reborn, no da. We just weren't sure where…or who…they were. Until now." He looked at their young faces, so small, yet so familiar. "We have reason to believe that you two are the first reincarnations of our companions, Nuriko and Hotohori."

They stared at him blankly.

"Are you all right, no da?" he asked gently. "I know this is a lot to have thrust upon you all at once…"

"I'm…Nuriko?" Horyuu said.

The monk nodded. _Maybe this won't be as difficult as I thought, no da_…

"_Nuriko_???"

Wait…something was wrong here… He didn't sound too happy. Opening his mouth to say something, Chichiri found that he could think of nothing to say.

"That's not _fair_!!" The purple-haired boy was indignant. "I _finally _get to be a Shichiseishi, a _real _one, and it turns out I'm _Nuriko_???"

Chichiri, flabbergasted, turned wide, astounded eyes to Tasuki.

"Mitsukake's his favorite," the bandit mumbled.

"Gah…" the monk managed.

Suddenly, Tasuki's eyes lit up, and he began to dig through his pouch in search of something. When he'd found it, he went up to the quivering child and showed it to him. "Horyuu, here, look at this, kiddo. Oi. _Look_ at this." He took the boy's chin in his hand and directed his gaze to the paper he held.

It was an image of himself, a man with blue hair, and a small-boned, purple-haired man dressed in a light blue tunic. The purple-haired man was smiling widely, one hand on his cheek.

"Y'see? That's Nuriko," Tasuki said, sentimental tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"That's a girl," frowned Horyuu.

"No. It's _not _a girl," Tasuki growled.

"But…"

"Nuriko had…problems. With his family. Like you," the bandit explained, "just like you. Except it wasn't his parents who… It was him. Understand?"

Biting his lip, the child nodded. 

"He was the greatest guy," Tasuki sighed, sniffing. "Came off so violent sometimes, but underneath it all, he was just…such a great guy. One of the best friends I've ever had. Just like Kouji. And this guy." He jerked his head in Chichiri's direction. "He was noble and brave and loyal…and…he looked just like you, kiddo! Look!" Pointing to Nuriko's mole in the picture, he followed by touching Horyuu's own mole lightly with his finger. "You should never be unhappy about being Nuriko! He was just…he was just the best!" 

Horyuu looked at him, brow furrowed. "You're not a very good bandit, you know," he said. "You cry a lot."

Tasuki responded by hugging the boy tightly, tears streaming down his face. "Gahhhh, Nurikooooooo!!!"

"Mmmmphhh!" Horyuu waved his arms frantically, unable to breathe.

Shaking his head, Chichiri turned to Kentoku. "Are you all right, no da?" he repeated. "You haven't said a thing, na no da."

"You truly believe I am Hotohori-sama?" the child asked, his eyes calm and intelligent.

Chichiri nodded.

Kentoku looked as if he was pondering the issue. "Hm, well," he said, "I suppose it makes sense, really. After all, Hotohori-sama was renowned for his wisdom and beauty."

The monk cocked an eyebrow.

"What concerns me more," Kentoku went on, "is what this means. Though I do believe you, Chichiri-sama, I don't remember anything at all…_should _I? Is that what you and Tasuki-sama were talking about just now?"

"I'm not sure what it means, no da," Chichiri replied truthfully. "I'm not even sure you were ever supposed to know. But it's too late to change it, now."

Pensive again, the boy frowned and nodded. "I'm glad," he said. "I'm glad you told us. Even if we don't remember. It's good to know who we were. And that boy over there, on the bed? Was he one of…us…as well?"

"Ahh, not exactly, no da…can we save that for another day, na no da?"

Kentoku smiled, and nodded once more.

~*~

The next step is…

The Redeemer Army halted, now hundreds strong. Over the fields, silhouetted on the horizon, the capital city of Kutou was visible, peaceful.

__

This will be so much easier, once I have the whole of Kutou behind me. With that army, all of Konan will be destroyed in no time…only the righteous, the pure ones, will rule.

Rishun gazed at his goal, and smiled to himself.

__

Tomorrow, we will take Kutou.

TBC….

Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be. ^_^ And once again, I have somehow managed to put off Tasuki confronting Horyuu about his "subconscious memories." ~.^;; It just never seemed like a good place to do it in this chapter! I can only promise it will be brought up eventually. I know, it seems like I keep bringing it up, then ignoring it. Sorry! But thanks for reading anyway! ^_^ 


	8. With the Rising Sun

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: ………

****

Warnings: Talking seashells, traumatic memories, cheesy chapter title, drama, drama, drama.

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Notes: Caffeine is my friend. ^_^ 

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Eight:

With the Rising Sun

Looking up from the hastily-scribbled message, Kouji fixed Asaku with a solemn look. "The bastard's actually _attacking Kutou???_"

"From their position, it looks like Shi's telling the truth," the younger man said with a nod.

"I'm not questioning that. I don't doubt what he says," the blue-haired bandit frowned, his eyes returning to the parchment. "He's a good kid. But…" _I can't believe this is happening. How could we not have seen through him before?? If only we would have stopped him when he was here in Konan, here on OUR MOUNTAIN… _"How far away is he?"

"Not far at all."

"And they're planning on moving on the city tomorrow."

"He's got about five hundred followers now," Asaku told him. "Most of them are outcasts from other bands. Some are Kutou exiles, and some are Konan prisoners, taken from the villages he destroyed."

Kouji sighed. Whatever harm Rishun had caused to date, it would only get worse if he won Kutou. Which, unfortunately, seemed fairly likely: despite the numbers of the Kutou army, it had grown disorganized and feeble under the rule of the new Emperor. _He wants to wipe out everyone in Konan. For some reason, he blames the war on us… blames the civil war in Kutou on US. Bad sense of history, this guy…but if he truly believes it, it doesn't matter if it's true or not. _

And we can't just stand idly by and let him win.

"Get everyone together," he instructed, folding the coded message. _We can't POSSIBLY get there before he strikes, and he WILL take Kutou…we'll be outnumbered. But SOMEONE has to fight him. _"We're goin out there. We're gonna start this war ourselves."

~*~

The dreams always began like this.

He was on a mountaintop, looking out over a world of desert…the wind rippled across the sand, moving it like an ocean, but never touched him; the sky was so bright it was almost white, and the sun glowed down upon him…

"Tomo."

Gen'ei glanced up to the horizon, startled at the voice; then he turned, slowly, and stood face to face with….

Usually it was a monster, a hellish creature, a zombie or demon. The awful manifestations of the evil he'd done, whether knowingly or not. But this time….this time, it was…a man. Just a man.

He had long, yellow hair, and pale blue eyes that seemed as hard and cold as ice. Dressed in Kutou armor and a long, blue cape, he radiated power, pride, dignity.

The boy swallowed. He remembered this man. Or rather…his soul did. He stared up into the icy eyes, and said in a voice that was both small and firm, "I'm not Tomo."

The man smirked mirthlessly. "Look again."

And he looked.

His hands were white and slim, and longer than they should have been…his dirty, grayish tunic had been replaced by something ornate and bright red. There was something suffocating on his face; he brought the unfamiliar hand to his cheek, and it came away sticky with something white and pasty.

He heard the man laugh.

Jerking his head up again, wide-eyed, he took a step backward….only to be frozen in place with a gesture of the blue-clad arm.

"Leaving so soon? I don't think so."

"Y-you're _him_," Gen'ei said shakily, surprising himself with the words. "_Nakago_. You're the one…who made us fight for you. You made us believe we were right…"

"I did not come here to speak of the past," the man interrupted adamantly. "I have no use for it. I am already paying for my arrogance."

__

This is a dream.

"Of course it is," the deep voice agreed.

"Make it go away!" Frantically, he tried to move his arms, to tear the horrible clothing, to claw the make-up off of his face, but the Shogun's invisible bonds held him fast.

"Do not act like a child."

"I _am _a child! I'm Rourikana Gen'ei!! I'm _not _Tomo; I'm _not_!!"

"You will not awaken until I have finished with you," the man said impatiently. "_Listen. _Hear me now. You cannot change who you are. But you have been given the chance to redeem yourself."

He stopped struggling then, panting heavily, a tiny bead of perspiration trickling from his brow.

"I was not given this chance. My soul is immobile," Nakago said, his face expressionless. "I can never be reborn. That was my punishment. But you can repay the world for what you have done."

"What you told me to do." When had he gotten this impudent? _It must be the dream._

The comment was ignored. "I have come to return something that belonged to you." The blond-haired man stepped closer, holding out his hand…there was an aura surrounding it, so bright that Gen'ei couldn't see what it held. Closing his fist around it, Nakago freed his captive from the magical restraints, took one of the strange hands, and pressed something into it. "Use it to save, not to destroy," he said softly. "Tomo. You were never evil. _People_…aren't evil. It is only life itself that bears that name. Don't let it claim you again."

And then, he was gone.

~*~

He opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling of Houjun-sensai's house. _Chichiri's house. I know I came here. Why am I…what…am I in a bed? I saw…Nuriko, and Hotohori. That's right. It's not just me. _

Sitting up slowly, he noticed the other two children sleeping beside him, the purple-haired one practically smothering the brown-haired one with his arm. 

__

Did I…faint?

There was something pressing into his hand. Startled, he raised a small, clenched fist to his face—_I'm me again, it's my hand, not his_—and opened it slowly, almost afraid of what he would see.

The aura around it had vanished with the dream, and all that remained was the tiny object itself: a small, cream-colored shell.

__

Do you remember me? the thing seemed to whisper to him. _For I remember you…_

~*~

As the sun slowly rose over Kutou, Rishun stationed himself at the front of his army and gave the order to move forward. For the thousandth time since becoming a Redeemer, Shi felt as if he would vomit.

__

I could stop this right now, he thought desperately. _I could kill him…just like that. He would never suspect it, not now._ But what good would it do? If he succeeded, he would be killed, as well. If he failed, he would likewise be killed. Of course, he would deserve it. But he couldn't take the chance of failure. That would ruin everything. 

__

I've come this far without breaking. I can go a little farther. 

He just hoped for a miracle, that the blood-crazed man would be stopped. He was fairly certain that the Redeemers would not hold without Rishun to lead them; _he _was the one with the Cause, and they were just along for the ride. But if he failed…

The horses began to trot; the men without mounts jogged at a steady pace, weapons drawn, grimacing and yelling, the narrow light glinting off of the scraps of armor many of them wore. 

The first ones to go were the guards, quick as a flash of lightning…and then, through the streets of Kutou, toward the palace and victory. Most of the capital had still been asleep, roused only by the roars of the bandits. They had been told to avoid killing the righteous citizens of Kutou, but if any impeded their progress…

Running along across the cobbles, Shi kept his eyes firmly locked on the man in front of him, and hoped with all of his heart that somehow, by some stroke of luck, they would be stopped.

~*~

Tasuki awoke to the sounds of screaming.

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" he demanded of no one in particular, scrambling up from the mat he'd been lying on. 

In an instant, Chichiri stood beside him; it didn't show on his face, but the bandit could tell that his friend was every bit as astounded as he was. "Keep away from the windows, no da…let's get the kids."

They raced to the bedroom, the pounding of hooves shaking the ground beneath them. The children had been awakened, as well; the three small faces were frightened and confused.

"It's all right, no da," Chichiri calmed them, shouting to be heard above the racket outside. "Come into the main room, right into the center, na no da…it's all right, just stay with us!"

Horyuu was the first to react, darting between Tasuki and Chichiri; but instead of stopping at the worn wooden table, the boy went right out the door.

There were men with swords swarming past the house in droves, screaming wordlessly; the purple-haired boy stopped short, paralyzed with fear, his breath coming in short gasps. He watched them run, trampling the people who stood in their way, knocking over water urns and smashing through carts… The flailing hilt of a sword smashed into his shoulder and he fell with a cry of pain and surprise, scraping his palms on the rough stones of the street. 

And then, there was a large hand on his arm; a gentle hand, helping him to rise. He looked up into a pair of umber eyes set in a wide, dark face; a large boy with shaggy, blue-gray hair, dressed in an olive-green coat. The eyes locked onto his own, and a bolt of burning heat went flashing through his mind…_A snowy mountaintop…cold, so cold… glowing eyes, glaring scar… strong enough to beat him…take a flying leap and then…and then……hurts………did he…get me?…_

He saw something glimmer in the strange boy's face, and then he was gone, running again with the others, and there were strong arms around his waist, lifting him up and carrying him quickly back into the house. 

"DAMMIT!!!" Tasuki screamed at him, setting him roughly down on the bench. "What the _hell _were ya _thinkin'_, kid?!! What did we tell you to do, huh??!!! _Center of the room_!!! _Shit_! You could have gotten _killed_!!" _And I couldn't take it if it happened again…I couldn't freakin take it!!_

Horyuu just looked at him with terrified lavender eyes, reached out his shaking arms, and grabbed the bandit around the neck, holding on tightly.

__

What the…?! More than a bit surprised, Tasuki stopped in mid-rant. _I just freakin yelled at him, for cryin out loud, and now he's…_ "Shit, are you okay?"

Chichiri looked on in concern, an arm around each of the other two reborn Seishi. "What's wrong with him, no da?"

"Do I look like I freakin' _know_?" the younger man shot back. "_Crap_!! Crap, crap, crap…freakin scared the _shit _outa me, kiddo!"

"What's going on?" Kentoku asked quietly.

"I don't know, no da," the monk replied. "We'll find out soon enough, I think, no da." _But whatever it is, it can't be good, na no da…_

~*~

The defense at the palace had been simply laughable. The emperor had been a weak fool, probably of mixed blood. Both he and the city had fallen easily enough. There was no one to challenge him, no one who would dare. 

As the last fleeing members of the Imperial Court were being hunted down and done away with, Rishun stood at the throne and chuckled deep in his throat, a soft, chilling sound that made even his closest followers swallow in discomfort.

__

Now my plans can begin in earnest.

The country is mine.

TBC… 

Gahhh….I know, I know, I ended with a Dramatic Rishun Scene for the second time in a row…sorry. And I just want to explain, for all you guys who are wondering, "Well, why the _heck _did Nuhoryuu run out into the freakin _street_?" that the kid just had his village burned down under similar circumstances. And what do you do when there's the threat of a fire?? That's right, kids!! You _exit the building_!! ^_^ I'm gonna explain that in the next chapter, but I wanted to make it clear that it wasn't just a random, "Hey! I'm a stupid kid, I think I'll run out into the street so I can run into the reincarnation of the guy who killed me in my last life!" type of thing. ^_^ It has psychological backing!!! 

Oh………and who guessed that Shi was really Ashitare?? Oh, come on…I know some of you must have. ^_^ 

And I freaked myself out with that whole Shin whispering thing. ~.^;; Yyyyyeah, so it was a little bizarre. ^_^

Haven't forgotten about Chiyu and Shunshuu…they're coming up! They just went AWOL for a while. 


	9. Beneath the Enemy Eye

FIRES OF DESTINY ****

Disclaimers: I now actually do own Nuriko, due to incredibly successful dabbling in the edible Play-doh business. For a modest fee, I'll rent him out to provide fanfic inspiration. [!!! In my dreams.]

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Warnings: Ummmm….let me see… **scans fic** Tasuki-language. Drama. ~.^;; Ummm, make that potential _melodrama. _-_-() 

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Notes: Great thanks to Kaze-chan and Okie-Dokie-Chan (that's you, Emily! hee hee) for taking the time to read this and comment when it could not yet be posted. A Nyan-Nyan to both of you. &^_^ & &^_^&

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Nine:

Beneath the Enemy's Eye

The streets outside were silent. But in a way, the silence was worse than the screaming had been.

__

It's over, no da…

It was over, whatever _it _had been. But how had it ended? What had been the outcome? Who _were _these madmen who had charged through the town with weapons drawn, destroying what little peace these people had been left?

"Damn Rishun," Tasuki muttered from the table, still holding a frightened Horyuu on his lap.

Chichiri glanced up in surprise. _Does he know who's behind this, no da?_ Before he could pose the question, though, the bandit had turned his attention to the boy he held, trying unsuccessfully to pry him away.

"They're gone, kiddo…hey, you hear me? They're all gone now." 

No response.

"Horyuu?"

Still nothing. 

Crap…freakin kids!! How'm I supposed to deal with freakin kids??!! What the hell happened out there??!! 

With a helpless look at Chichiri, Tasuki stood up and began to spin around the room, trying to get a yell, a squeak, _anything_, out of his charge. He even made dramatic swooping noises in an attempt to make him laugh. Nothing seemed to work; Horyuu just clung to him, still shaking, breathing heavily. Almost to the point of tears, the red-haired man plopped down at the table again. He reached back and grabbed the thin wrists, firmly but gently removing them from around his neck. Horyuu's terrified eyes met his, and he forced himself to keep his temper (a difficult feat, indeed!), despite wanting to storm outside, find whoever had caused this sudden trauma, and smash him to a bloody pulp. Instead, he settled for a more pragmatic solution.

"What happened?" he demanded quietly.

The purple-haired boy drew his fists to his chin. They both gave a start at the sudden hand that appeared on the small shoulder, looking up to see that Kentoku had approached them.

"What happened?" Kentoku repeated. "Tell us…come on."

There was a moment of silence as Horyuu attempted to gather his thoughts and calm himself down.

"I…" he finally choked, glancing from his friend to Tasuki. "I…I _died_."

Tasuki blinked. "Eeeehhhh, _what_?"

"I d… I died. Didn't I. When I was him," the boy said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I saw it. I felt it." He shuddered. "It…it _hurt_."

__

He got those memories just by running outside?!

"Horyuu," said Tasuki gently, "I know it seemed real, but it was just a memory. Memories can't hurt you, ya know." _Except in your mind…they can always hurt you in your mind._

"I know…But it happened, didn't it?"

Tasuki nodded quickly, inwardly shaking his head to clear it, unwilling to let himself remember the awful day in any detail. 

But the boy continued. "You buried me in the snow," he murmured quietly, "and I looked down and watched…You were crying."

The bandit's brown eyes widened, his heart clenched. His own memories flickered before him despite himself: the hard, unfeeling mountain wall against his back; his friends a few yards away, their bodies blurred by his tears. _How could he… _

…Nuriko…you were there?

"I wanted to tell you…that you were a…_pathetic excuse for a bandit_." The small mouth twitched into a shy smile. "But I couldn't. You couldn't hear me. I felt so bad… I didn't want to leave. But…" his face took on an anxious expression, "it was for a noble cause, wasn't it?"

New tears pricked at his eyes, and he closed them to stop them from falling. _Can't freakin tell him I think he died for nothin, now, CAN I. _"The noblest," he said roughly. _He was watching us. He was there with us…_The thought both warmed him and tore at him; he couldn't help it. He had never really experienced loss before Nuriko, and it still hurt to think of it…still hurt to know that Nuriko himself was never coming back. His soul had been reborn, true—and Horyuu was his twin in looks and temperament—but he wasn't Nuriko. Tasuki had tried to pretend he was, but he wasn't. He couldn't remember the inside jokes they'd shared, the things they'd done together…what it was like to be a seishi, the glowing feeling it gave you right in the center of your chest. He had hoped that, if he did develop memories—subconscious or otherwise—it would be as if they'd never seen that bloody mountiain. But Horyuu's newfound memories of his death were the jolt into reality the bandit had both longed for and dreaded. It was the bitter knowledge that, even if the child _did _remember his past life…it wasn't going to bring Nuriko back.

But he was watching us, that time. It's nice to know that. It's nice to know. 

When he was finally able to look at the boy again, he gave a slight smile of his own. And even though he knew now that memories could never replace his friend, he asked the question he'd been dying to ask since he'd recognized him for who he used to be. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all; he'd take as much of Nuriko as he could get. 

"Horyuu…do you remember anything else?"

The purple head shook. 

"Anything at all?" 

The child hesitated, and something inside Tasuki's chest gave a flutter of excitement. "There's this woman… she comes to see me sometimes when I'm sleeping," Horyuu admitted. "She has brown hair and green eyes, and wears a funny brown tunic…she sings me songs sometimes." He lowered his large eyes, fiddling with his fingers. "I don't remember ever meeting her. When I was me, I mean. I think…she's from him."

__

Miaka.

"Um….do you know who she is?"

The bandit opened his mouth, but found he couldn't bring himself to reply. 

Apparently, the kid took his silence as a no. He sighed. "Tasuki-san?"

"Y…yeah."

"Why….were those people running around outside? I'm sorry I ran out. I thought they would burn things again…" Horyuu swallowed. "They didn't."

"I….I really don't know," Tasuki frowned. "But you can be sure, Chichiri and me, we're gonna find out, okay?"

"Perhaps it was a military coup," Kentoku put in. "They happen all the time, military coups. And it would make sense, since Kutou's so weak."

Tasuki blinked. It made sense! _Damn me if the kid isn't right!! Rishun…that complete and utter BASTARD…_

"Rrrrrright," he said, masking the connection he'd made and leaping up from the table. "Back to bed for you pipsqueaks! Chichiri-san and I have to talk. We'll be right in the next room if ya need us."

Gen'ei silently obeyed, the model of discipline, shoulders sagging; the monk looked after him almost sadly.

"But I'm a Shichiseishi," Horyuu protested, making a startling recovery from his earlier near-catatonic state. "I'll bet _Nuriko_ never had to sleep."

"_Trust me_." Tasuki cocked an eyebrow as he herded the two reborn Suzaku warriors into the bedroom. "_He did_. A lot."

"What if something bad happens?"

"Then Chichiri and I will hear it, and we'll come right away."

"But what if you don't?"

"We _will_."

"But what if you _can't_?"

Tasuki rolled his eyes. "Well, then you've got Ken-chan to protect you."

Horyuu giggled and jumped on the other boy's back; Kentoku gave the bandit a look that plainly said, "_Why _must you encourage him further?"

With a smile that managed to be both innocent and evil, Tasuki nudged them forward and into the bed.

~*~

When the children were settled and drifting off once more—despite what had happened, and their subsequent protests, they were all still exhausted—Tasuki rejoined Chichiri in the main room, a fanged grin splitting his face.

"Did ya hear?! He remembers Miaka! He dreams about her!! I _knew _there was something…"

"You know who these brigands are, no da," Chichiri said bluntly. 

The grin faded, and Tasuki scratched his head uncomfortably, lowering his gaze. "Uhhh….yeah, I might know some stuff…"

The monk folded his arms and waited expectantly.

"I…recognized a few of the guys running," Tasuki related. "They're some of my…_former_ Mt. Reikaku Bandits."

Chichiri was startled. "_Your _bandits?" 

"Led by a bloodthirsty jerk named Rishun," Tasuki confirmed with a grim nod. "Rishun's the one who burned the village where we found Hoto….where we found the kids. Dangerous guy. What Ken-chan said about seizing the throne of Kutou might not be that far off. Guy's a complete mental case. But smart. Reeeeeal smart."

"But, why would he want _Kutou_, no da?"

"Beats the hell outa me. Is he takin it just because it's the easiest to take, or does it have some kinda sentimental symbolic crap? Not a freakin clue. Once he has an army, though…I doubt the Kutou army would be as incompetent under Rishun's control. He'll wanna do stuff, put 'em to use. I can guarantee it. The Kutou army's been sittin on their asses doin paperwork and shit since the war. Most of 'em'll jump at the chance to go out and freakin _do _somethin for a change."

The monk clenched his jaw thoughtfully. "I think you're right, no da."

Tasuki gave a start. "Uhh…ya do?"

"We have to stop him before he gets out of control, no da," Chichiri said firmly. "And that means, finding out exactly what his goals are: is he just power-hungry, or does this conquest have a specific purpose, na no da?"

"Wait, hold up!" Tasuki cried, waving his arms. "We don't even know if he beat the palace guards or not! Heh heh, see? What I said just now really isn't that impressive, after all!"

"Tasuki, no da," said Chichiri tiredly, "you realize, it's not a _bad _thing to be smart, na no da."

"Maybe he lost! Maybe we're makin a whole big deal outa _nothin_!"

"We've established that Kutou's army isn't exactly up to snuff, no da…I think we can be fairly certain that it's been beaten, no da, whatever that might mean for the Royal Family."

"What, you mean he might just set up a freakin puppet government?"

Chichiri shrugged. "He worked for _you_, no da…does he seem like the kind of man who would rule vicariously, or take full control himself?"

"How the _hell _am I supposed to know???" Tasuki exploded. "He was good at hiding things! I didn't even know he was a damn freakin homicidal _lunatic_ until he went all pyro on Sarasshi!"

"Will you _be quiet_, no daaaaa??!!" his friend hissed. "The kids are trying to sleep, no da!!"

"Dammit, stop talkin to me like we're freakin _married_," Tasuki replied, but his volume had been considerably lowered. "Nag, nag, nag….small _wonder_ you're not married yet!"

"I'm a _monk_, no da!" Chichiri stated incredulously.

"Yeah, yeah, I've _heard _all yer excuses…"

Chichiri sighed, rolled his eyes, and went to the window, peering out into the street and trying to ignore the bandit's irritating voice. Suddenly, he stiffened, moved his hands to rest on the windowsill, and strained forward to see something. 

"…Which I suppose is fine, if you don't _like _girls," Tasuki was jabbering, "but for someone who's _interested, _it's just freakin _sad_…"

"Shh!! Shut up, no da!" Without turning his head, Chichiri motioned for the younger man to join him.

Tasuki scowled as he went. "What the hell is it _now_?"

"Across the street," the monk said solemnly.

Two bandits—easily identified by their mismatched armor—were pounding on the door of the house across the street; when they received no reply, they began kicking at it harder; the wood snapped, and the two barged inside.

"What the hell?" Tasuki demanded, a slight tremor in his voice betraying his unease. "What do they think they're _doin_?!"

Chichiri was about to reply that he had no idea whatsoever, when there was a loud, persistent rapping on his own door.

"Open your home, in the name of Emperor Rishun the Redeemer!!"

The two old friends shared a stony glance.

"Certainly doesn't waste any freakin' time," Tasuki growled, his eyes narrowing.

~*~

They saw the marching "army," and reined the horse to a sudden stop.

"They're going the same way we are," Chiyu whispered over his new friend's shoulder. "What do you think they're doing?"

"I…" Shunshuu frowned. What _were _they doing? Where were they going?

"Should we keep going this way, or avoid them, do you think?"

The smaller boy frowned. "Let's go around them," he said quietly. "We don't want any trouble; just to get to Kutou."

Chiyu nodded his agreement; however, when they turned the horse, there was a huge brown gelding blocking their way. Atop it sat a man with blue hair and a long, vertical scar running down his left cheek. 

"Where ya headed?" the man remarked casually.

"Uh…K-Kutou," stuttered Shunshuu, having been taken by surprise.

The man clicked and shook his head. "Ya don't wanna go to Kutou…so many awful things happening there…"

Shunshuu and Chiyu glanced at each other.

"Awful things?" 

"A war, in fact," the man said grimly. "So if I were you two, I'd stay away until we end it."

"A war!" Chiyu tapped his friend's shoulder. "Do you suppose it has something to do with why we were summoned?"

"Quite possibly," Shunshuu agreed. "Almost certainly, in fact. It can't be _that _much of a coincidence."

The scar-faced stranger blinked. "Wh-what are you talking about, now?"

Intelligent green eyes looked up at him calmly. "We _must _go to Kutou, sir. We were called."

" 'Called'?"

The child nodded. "Yes. It's imperative that we arrive there soon."

~*~

Kouji stared hard at the two children riding the mare. Something about them seemed…odd. Normally, he would have _insisted _that the two of them go right back home, accuse them of playing some sort of hero game. But…he almost felt like… he _believed _their claim of a summons. Which was perfectly ridiculous, really…they were just kids! Didn't know what was best for them…

…But deep down inside, he just had this _feeling_…

"Ehhh…Okay, well," he addressed the two children, astonishing himself with the unquestioning way he followed his instincts, and turned his horse alongside theirs. "Will you allow us to be your escorts to the capital?"

The boys looked surprised, but nodded eagerly.

"I'm Kouji," the bandit said, giving them a small salute, "surrogate leader of the Mt. Reikaku Bandits."

"I'm Shunshuu, of Eiyo," said the smaller boy, bowing as low as he could from his seat atop the horse. "This is Chiyu, of…er…"

"Nowhere of Consequence," said the other with a smile and another bow.

Kouji chuckled despite himself. "Pleased to meet you both. Now…shall we get going?"

The bay mare joined the modest army of bandits marching or riding off to war, unaware of what awaited them, or even of why they were going in the first place… By order or righteousness or summons, the Defenders of Freedom made their way to Kutou.

TBC…

****

Notes: -_-() forgive the incredibly cheesy and over-dramatic ending paragraph….Mouse-chan no sleepy last night…

And please, if you guys find plot holes, let me know and I'll try to fix them! ^_^ Email me: PurpleMouse105@hotmail.com. I know there've gotta be a ton, but it's hard to recognize them when you're the one writing the thing. ^_^ Thanks, everybody! Have fun! 


	10. Escape

Nuriko: Um, don't you have a major test tomorrow ****

Disclaimer: Since the edible play-doh idea was stolen by some cheap cookie company, I am no longer able to share custody of Nuriko. **sigh** ^_^ Maybe it will be possible again in the future, since Kaze-chan and I intend to sue. If things go our way, we will be able to purchase Nuriko, the entire FY DVD set, and lots of wallscrolls with our winnings, and still have something left over to buy, ohhh….Tasuki's left fang, or something.

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Warnings: Methinks this story's gonna be pretty long…

Notes: Thanks to all who're reading this and like it!! And even if you read it and you don't like it, thanks for giving it a try. ^_^ Thanks especially to Kaaaaaaaaaze-channnnn (said in the Nuriko style) for helping me with names and stuff and preventing me from getting flamed for spelling 'Mt. Reikaku' wrong. ~.^;; Heh heh! Thanks to Emily for bugging me to write, and….I feel like I'm giving an Oscars acceptance speech, or something. And…I'd like to thank my hairdresser…and…Jon Bon Jovi!! ( ~.^;;) And Kryssa, if you're reading, the answer to your question lies at the end of this chapter. ^_^ Hope ya like it, everyone! 

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Ten:

Escape

_Those eyes…those eyes…I've seen them…_

It's him.

The boy he had killed…that _Ashitare _had killed…what seemed like ages ago. 

_He was fighting for his friends…protecting them, and I…_

He remembered the whip, and the man who held it, and shuddered. 

_He would have killed me, though…he would have killed me. But he did anyway, that's the pain of it…If I'd have been stronger, I wouldn't have done it. But I was afraid…_

As he stepped wearily through the mess that had been the Imperial Palace of Kutou, Shi clenched his jaw to keep it from quivering. There was nothing he could do about it now, he reminded himself for the thousandth time. All he could do was focus on the present, on the task at hand.

_That means…the Suzaku no Shichiseishi were reborn, too_.

_Baka yo. Of course they were reborn…you just didn't expect them to be HERE, did you?_

Did they remember, as he did? He'd seen fear and pain in the violet eyes of the child…Had that been recognition, though, or just terror brought on by the attack? Had they been sent to help, somehow? What about Tasuki—Genrou—his leader? He had left shortly after Rishun's attack on Sarasshi, and had not made known where, or why he was going. Could he have come to Kutou? Perhaps the Gods had a hand in this, after all. Perhaps the odds _were _tilted in their favor, despite the army at Rishun's back!

The thought renewed his hopes for victory and redemption, as much as the child he had seen still burned like a brand into his heart. 

_If I hadn't killed him…if I hadn't been so afraid…that boy might still be alive. A grown man to fight this usurper, and not a child who might not even understand his powers. _

His thoughts were interrupted by Ugou, the burly man who was Rishun's second-in-command. 

"Oi, lad! They're bringing more prisoners; take 'em down to the cells, and lock 'em up good, now!"

"Hai, Ugou-sama," Shi responded, bowing. 

Rishun hadn't wasted any time setting about his goals. The boy emperor and all the nobles had been killed, and none but the smallest girls in the harem had been left alive. The shoguns—though practically useless anyway—had joined their ruler. The new emperor's first orders had been to go out into the city and find all the immigrants, all the workers from Konan and the other lands who had made Kutou their home, and bring them to the dungeons as prisoners or slaves. 

__

It's awful. The outlanders in Kutou are only the best of men, Shi thought angrily, careful to keep his face expressionless as he escorted the bandits and their captives to the chilly cellar. _They're the ones who came to help rebuild the country when it fell…the teachers and the priests who gave shelter to the victims of poverty. It isn't fair. It isn't FAIR!! _He couldn't even look at the bloody faces being shoved into the cells. All he could tell himself, over and over again, was that it would all be over soon…the Gods must have a plan, the Seishi were gathering…and Rishun's ends would be squashed before he got a decent hold on them.

He simply did not understand the man. Why was he _doing _this?? He'd suffered during the war, and in the shambled aftermath…but _thousands _had suffered, Shi included. The boy had grown up in the capital, had had to scrape to survive just as the others, but he wasn't about to go off and kill innocent people because of a war over which no one had control. These things _happened_…the people who were to blame were dead. Maybe Rishun was just plain crazy.

_Was there any doubt in your mind_?

Climbing back up to the main level of the palace, he berated himself for such useless thoughts. After all, it didn't really matter: whatever his motives, Rishun had to be stopped, and he should be thinking about how to go about _that_. He hadn't been able to leave a message for the bandits for a few days; the last note had contained the madman's plans to conquer Kutou. With luck, Kouji and the others were already on their way, and had concocted some sort of plan…

"_Ashitare_!!!"

The whispered voice from the shadows made him freeze. 

_No. Gods, no…no one knows. No one can possibly know._

Slowly, almost afraid of what he would find, Shi turned and peered into a pair of wide, unbelieving blue eyes.

~*~

The knocking grew louder, and then turned to kicking.

"They're breakin down the freakin door," Tasuki muttered. Reaching under his coat, he pulled out his tessen. _Hn…Wonder if the stupid thing even WORKS anymore… can't remember the last time I actually had to use it. _"Get the kids," he instructed; "I'll take care of our freakin 'guests' and we'll blow this place…"

With one last thud, the door cracked down the center, and the house was invaded. A huge man, scarred and rough, burst in with his sword drawn, mouth open and ready to shout…but upon seeing Tasuki standing before him, tessen held ready, he faltered and jerked back the slightest bit.

"G-Genrou!" he exclaimed, surprise evident on his face.

"Sheyu," the red-haired Seishi greeted coldly. "I see you've found a way to amuse yourself." 

The ex-bandit, who had been part of the Mt. Reikaku Bandits for over a year until this unfortunate turn of events, clenched his jaw. "I'll get more from Emperor Rishun than I ever got from your pathetic little group of half-assed outlaws."

"By destroying the freakin _country_??" Tasuki exploded. 

"He's _saving _it! Not destroying it! Once the other lands are under his control, once we're all united, there will _be _no more wars!! The Universe will be as one, under one Emperor!"

"Ya _really believe _that??? Ya freakin _moron_!!!!" yelled Tasuki. "He's freakin _brainwashed _you! If Rishun is such a freakin pacifist, why's he sending all you guys around knockin on doors with swords?!! And what about the village you _burned_?? How the _hell _is that conductive to _peace_???!!!"

Sheyu's face darkened.

"There haven't been wars for _ten freakin years_!! The only reason we're facing one now is _because _of that bastard who's calling himself the Emperor!!"

"You shouldn't criticize what you don't understand," said the Redeemer dangerously. "You don't understand what a great man he is…how much he will do for the world. And I'm afraid, My Leader, that you never will." He raised his sword and moved to attack…

"REKKA SHINEN!!!!!!!!!!!"

…And was promptly reduced to a smoking pile of ash.

"_Gods, _I've missed you," he murmured lovingly to his tessen. 

"What happened, no da?" Chichiri asked urgently, emerging from the bedroom with the children at his heels.

"Nothin I couldn't handle," Tasuki said proudly, spinning his weapon nonchalantly.

"WOW!!! It's his tessen!!!!!" Horyuu exclaimed to Kentoku. "He really IS the real Tasuki!!"

"_What_, you thought we were _kidding_?!" the bandit demanded.

"Now is not exactly the time to argue, no da," Chichiri reminded them. "We have to get out of here, na no da!"

Kentoku looked up at him. "What's happening? I thought the coup was over."

"How come you keep telling us to go to sleep, but then you come in right away to wake us up again?" Horyuu demanded.

Chichiri shook his head. He didn't understand what was going on, why Rishun was sending his men to slaughter people in their homes… _Could he have discovered somehow that I'm a Suzaku no Shichiseishi, no da?? That's impossible, though, isn't it? I've been so careful to keep it hidden, no da…and there's no way he could have found out so quickly! _What's more, it didn't explain the attacks on the other houses. _What sense is there in succeeding in conquering a city, only to go around killing the people you've just conquered, no da?! _

"Hey," said Horyuu, "there's something wrong with the weird kid."

Feeling small arms clutching around him, the monk rested his eyes on Gen'ei. The boy was holding onto him tightly, eyes squeezed shut…

~*~

Gen'ei clutched the shell in his shaking fist, trying to retreat inside himself and forget what was going on around him.

_You can escape, _a voice hissed to him. _You can leave it all behind…won't have to face the killing again, if you lose yourself inside Me…_

He could go into the shell! He could go anywhere he wanted within it…leave this place, with the poverty and the violence…

"_Don't let it control you,_" said a voice. 

_Nakago_.

"_You have to be strong. Show it who holds the power. Don't let it take hold of you again…_"

_I'm not strong…I'm afraid!! I'm afraid of who I used to be, of what's happening now…I want it to go away…_

"_You can't hide from it. They need you._"

_They…need me… _

The idea confused him. No one had ever _needed _him before…he had always been the one who depended on others, for food, shelter, protection…never the other way around. 

"Hey!" 

Another voice…something poked him in the shoulder, startling him enough to make him open his eyes. He blinked, peering down into a concerned little face.

"Don't be scared," said Horyuu, giving the taller boy a reassuring grin. "We'll be okay. We're all Suzaku no Shichiseishi! We'll keep you safe." He slipped a small hand into Gen'ei's—luckily, the one without the shell. 

Gen'ei returned the smile weakly, grateful for being pulled out of his little mental hole, but also slightly ashamed to be making people worry about him.

"While this is _really _freakin _cute_," Tasuki declared loudly, "I think it's time to _get outa here_!!!"

"Here, no da," said Chichiri, removing his kesa and laying it out on the ground. He gazed around expectantly.

The three children looked at him blankly.

"Are…you…decorating?" Kentoku inquired with a slightly puzzled frown.

Grumbling to himself, Tasuki stalked over to the enchanted fabric. "It's a monk thing; transports ya different places, and shit," he explained, grabbing Horyuu's free hand and stepping onto the thing. The others followed, and Chichiri touched the kesa with his shakujou, opening the portal and grumbling.

" 'A Monk Thing,' no da…"

~*~

"Neeeeee…aniki," said Ryoushin, coming to sit at the table by his brother. "Can I ask you something?"

Tenki rubbed his eye. "Of course."

The slightly younger boy regarded him closely. "Are, um, are you all right? You look tired."

"I'm all right." He wasn't, not really. He'd barely slept at all, kept up by nightmares, pounding thoughts, and memories of death. Stronger than normal. Much stronger. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Well…" Ryoushin fiddled with his fingers. "I've been feeling…kinda weird lately…"

_No…it can't be. _"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I don't know…I feel something pulling me…" The boy shrugged uncomfortably. "I can't explain it. I keep having this weird idea that…I need to go to Kutou." He shot his brother an apologetic grin. "It's strange, I know…but…"

"It's probably nothing," said Tenki, as casually as he could muster. "Just ignore it. We need you here, you know that."

Ryoushin looked at the table and sighed. "Yeah, I know…"

"It'll fade."

"Mm-hm."

As the other boy finished his breakfast, Tenki regarded him worriedly out of the corner of his eye. _I can't let him go. It's in the past; it's not real for us. _

We're not Seishi anymore.

It's over.

TBC…

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Notes: As always, let me know if you guys notice any plot holes; comments are always appreciated! ^_^


	11. A Spoke in the Wheels

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Notes: Okay…if anybody knows if this chapter title is really a phrase, PLEASE let me know!! ~.~ You ever have one of those days when you know what phrase you're trying to think of, but for the life of you, you just can't remember if you have it right? -_-() And then you go on the web trying to hunt down idioms to see if they have it anywhere and you STILL can't find it????? ;; Yah. I _intended _for the title to mean, putting a spoke in the wheels, therefore impeding the progress of the cart (or, whatever the wheeled object may be). Is that right??? It seems weird to me, because a spoke is a part of a wheel. I think I'm thinking too much about it, making it more confusing. Well, anyway…thanks to Red-chan for trying to help me in my hour of need. ^_^ Daaaaa!!

Thanks too to Kaze-chan for putting up with my frantic queries regarding the "speed" of the story: since you're so nice, maybe Nuriko will kiss you again. ^_^.n And Emily, thanks for bugging me about writing, no da! ^_^ Only one more day until Harry Potter!! Hang in there!! Hope you guys like it!

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Eleven:

A Spoke in the Wheels

They stopped on the border, the city in sight. 

__

We're too late, thought Kouji, his heart sinking. _We're too late. We couldn't stop them..._

"Kouji-san?" said the strange boy—Shunshuu—quietly. "Are you all right?"

He put on a bitter smile and met the child's eyes. "'Fraid we mighta missed the war," he remarked without humor. 

"Oi, Boss!!" one of the bandits called up to him. "Over here! It's Asaku!"

Kouji turned quickly, jumping off his horse to greet the young man who had been shadowing Shi and the traitors. Asaku looked as if he'd not eaten or slept in days; his reddish hair was matted, his cheekbones surprisingly prominent. 

"Get him somethin to eat," he instructed, before addressing the go-between. "Did you see? Did you see what happened?"

Asaku nodded miserably. "They went...yesterday. Last night. It was over so quickly...I tried to get into the city, but anyone from Konan—any outlander at all—is either being imprisoned or killed on the spot. I was able to get away, but…they could've caught me if they'd wanted to."

__

Too late.

"No," he muttered to himself. "No. It's not too late. It _can't _be."

"It's not too late, Kouji-san," said Shunshuu, who, along with Chiyu, had appeared at his side. "It's not. We were called. And we only just got here. It can't be too late, because we still have to do whatever it was we were summoned to do!"

He looked them over silently. _Who the heck ARE these kids?! And why do I BELIEVE them? It's crazy, talkin of being "called," or "summoned..."_

Summoned.

SUMMONED! By the flamin wings of Suzaku! By the flamin freakin wings of flamin freakin SUZAKU!! It's the Gods that summon people, isn't it?! Like Genrou was summoned, shit, seems like centuries ago...summoned as Suzaku no Shichiseishi Tasuki! And those kids, Horyuu and Kentoku...if TWO of the Seishi were reborn, there've GOTTA be others!!

Are these two...are they? More reborn seishi? Called by the Gods to stop whatever freakin messed up plot Rishun has in store? It makes sense…Genrou left for Kutou without REALLY knowing why…Chichiri's been there for who knows how long…were they "summoned," like Shunshuu and Chiyu claim to have been? Suzaku no Shichiseishi! Who ARE they, though, these two?

He counted off names one by one, mind racing, the strange mish-mash of confusion that had gathered there gradually beginning to clear. Tasuki and Chichiri: still alive and kicking. Nuriko and Hotohori: reborn as Horyuu and Kentoku. Tamahome, from what Genrou had told him, had been reborn in the Miko's world, so that left...

Mitsukake. And Chiriko.

__

It makes sense!! Of COURSE I didn't recognize them! I never met them!! Kouji began laughing quietly; it was rather fatigued laughter, but genuine all the same. _I never met them. Chiriko...died before I had the chance. Mitsukake, too...but I saw him, after he was wounded...that day...when we came to aid Konan against Nakago and his army of mercenaries..._

He peered carefully into the face of the larger of the two boys, and felt the tiniest prick of recognition in the back of his memory as the blue eyes blinked back at him.

__

Mitsukake.

Chiriko.

It HAS to be. 

The children, meanwhile, had taken a few steps back, uncertainty written on their faces at his unheralded burst of good humor. The bandits, too, now that he noticed, were staring at him with rather _too_ neutral expressions.

Smiling, Kouji ran a hand through his hair. "Heh. I'm okay, don't worry."

"You sure, Boss?" Asaku rasped, always vocal despite his weakened condition. "Ya went a little Humor-of-the-Gods on us, there."

"I'm okay," he repeated, giving the two boys a reassuring nod. _But they don't know who they are. Just like the other two. They're just normal kids with normal lives, and they have no idea...shit. I hope Genrou found out how to handle the situation with the first batch of incarnates, cuz he's got a freakin line at his door. _"You're right," he told Shunshuu. "We can't be too late.

"There's still hope. More than I would've imagined..."

And suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, the sky fell on his head.

~*~

"Sorry, Kouji-kun, no da," Chichiri apologized profusely, brow furrowed in apology. "It's just so hard to tell exactly where this thing is going to land us, no da..."

"It's okay, it's o..." Kouji began, rubbing his head, when an arm snaked into his and began whirling him around in circles.

"KOUJI!!! How've ya been, man?! Didja miss me??"

He winced. "GAH, shit, Genrou!! The freakin dance is givin me a migraine!"

Tasuki stopped short, eyes wide and hurt. "What the hell, Kouji! We _always_ do the dance! It's a freakin _tradition_! Crap," he muttered, "yer just gettin old."

The blue-haired bandit tactfully ignored him. "Look," he said proudly, softly, nodding in the direction of his two young charges. "Notice anything familiar?"

Shunshuu and Chiyu were involved in a game of exchange with Horyuu and Kentoku, jabbering on excitedly...or, at least, _Horyuu_ was jabbering on excitedly. The others just sort of stood there...listening to him talk and trying to avoid getting whacked in the face by his exaggerated gesticulations.

"I-it's..." Tasuki's mouth fell open as he gazed (in a manner rather pathetic for a bandit) at the familiar faces. 

"Chiriko and Mitsukake," Kouji prompted. "Am I right?"

His friend nodded slowly. "Chiriko looks...the same! Exactly the same...but it's still not him, is it? Not really," he murmured quietly. Before Kouji had a chance to react to this strange, obscenity-less musing, Tasuki had more or less rebounded. "Ahh, crap! Chichiri! You seein this?!"

The monk was smiling calmly. "I see it, no da."

"Mitsukake..." the red-haired man said in a voice that somehow managed to be gruff and squeaky at the same time. "He…he…"

"I know, no da," said Chichiri, trying to smooth over the shock of the unexpected reunion.

"He…"

"I know."

__

"He…_he's so cute as a kid_!!!" Tasuki covered his mouth with his hand in an attempt to hide his quivering lower lip.

Chichiri stared at him, then rolled his eyes. "Oy, no da…"

"I'd _never _be able to picture freakin Mits as a kid!" the younger man went on. "But look! That looks _just like _what he'd look like if he was ten years old!!"

"Maybe because…that _is _him, no da?" his friend suggested. "In appearance, at least, na no da."

"And…the situation in the war-torn capital _is_?" inquired Kouji bluntly, spreading his hands. 

Tasuki and Chichiri glanced over at him.

"Oh….yeah," muttered the fiery bandit.

"Rishun has control of the city and the army, no da," Chichiri explained grimly. "We don't know much more than that. He's sending soldiers around to the homes, no da, and imprisoning people…seemingly at random, no da…"

"Psychopathic freak," Tasuki put in.

Kouji shook his head. "No. Not at random. Outsiders." He explained about Shi, and the messages the boy had sent, confirming Rishun's ultimate goal of destroying Konan as revenge for the toll the war had taken on his own land.

Chichiri considered this. "But…how could he know? How could he possibly _know _who was from where, no da?!"

"I don't think that's quite the freakin problem we should be focusing on," said Tasuki. "Bastard's gonna go for Konan eventually. Do we know when? How?"

"Since they moved into the city, our shadow band hasn't been able to contact Shi," said Kouji. "I'm afraid we're as clueless as you are where that detail is concerned."

"Well…we know he's going to attack Konan sooner or later, no da. The only question is, how long will we wait on the border to stop him, no da?"

"As long as it takes," Kouji promised, glaring at the capital. "As long as it takes."

~*~

The eyes, as it turned out, belonged to a young girl…a small, thin young girl with long, reddish hair, dressed in an elaborate black outfit. She stepped slowly out of the shadows and stared at him, her cheeks wet.

He relaxed, and smiled sadly. "Soi."

With a slight nod, she shrugged self-consciously, a nervous little grin flitting across her face. "Kourui."

"Shi." He nodded back.

"You…remember, too?" Kourui asked.

"Yes." _Do we all remember? Have we all been reborn? This is so…strange… Does she regret, as I do?… _"I…shouldn't speak to you. If someone should see…"

"Yes," she agreed, lowering her eyes. "Y-you can…you can visit the harem, if you like…they haven't locked us up. There aren't…a lot of us left, but…"

He looked at her in shock, until he realized that she only meant to talk. _She knows I'm not really working for Rishun. Somehow, she knows._ "Um. I will," he confirmed, trying to keep his voice reassuring even while he walked away from her.

__

Can she help me? She would have every reason to help me…it's her country that's been taken over, after all. 

Can I trust her, though?…

Yes. He thought he could. If the way he himself felt about his past life was any indicator of how his compatriots felt, he was almost certain that Soi, out of all of them, would feel the guilt of having been under Nakago's control. She had always been kind to him…kinder than the others, anyway…and he suspected she really had been a kind person at heart. But the Shogun, as he had done so many times before, had corrupted her somehow. 

__

We're only children. But we're Seishi. Whether we like it or not…

"So."

The second voice caught him off guard, as the first one had. But this one… It sounded like…but it couldn't possibly, he was in the anteroom, plotting with himself!

But it _was _him. The quiet, dangerously gentle tone. The coal-black eyes, the ash-gray hair, the rather hooked nose…he was staring at Shi almost placidly, examining him as he might some sort of scientific specimen.

"So," Rishun said again, his mouth twisting into a soft smile that was made sick and unnerving by the hard, piercing evil in his eyes. "_Ashitare_."

TBC…. (DUN DUN DUNNNNN!!!!!)

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Notes: Whoah, the soap-opera-ish plot continues!! But what Rishun DOESN'T know is that Shi's mother is actually his own sister's former psychic counselor who saved him from a pack of wild boars when he was just a baby, but not before killing his parents and selling him to a weevil salesman in exchange for a seat in Parliament… ~.^ never mind, no da.

Thanks for reading!! I forgot to thank all you guys at the top, so I'll do it down here. ^_^ It's really so cool to know that you guys actually read my stuff, and I love you forever for it!! **throws kisses, cookies, flowers, and sushi** **gets in trouble with the custodian for messing up the floor**


	12. Three Days Hence

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Notes: Hi, everyone! …Ummm, not much to say, I guess. Except for something totally off the subject: I've had 'I'm Just A Teenage Dirtbag' stuck in my head for about five or six hours. I love that song! ^_^ I'm not a teenage dirtbag, though. I'm not even a regular dirtbag. At least, I hope not. Kaze-chan, thanks for reading this first and thinking it was good. ^_^n I give you frosted Christmas cookies from Super Walmart to display my gratitude. (Since you so blatantly tossed away the spaghetti I offered you earlier…hmmph.) ^.~ Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope you like it! ^_^ And let me leave you with these final, oh-so-meaningful words: "I'm just a teen-age dirt-bag, bay-bee, like you! Oooh ooh ooh ooooooooh!" ^_^ 

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Twelve:

Three Days Hence

"Well, well," said Rishun, raising a fine eyebrow. "Isn't this a surprise. You might have said something, you know. Didn't you think I would have been interested in the fact that I had a reborn warrior of Seiryuu in my ranks? And the girl. Interesting. _Interesting_."

Shi tried to keep his expression neutral. _He heard everything. _"Forgive me, heika. I wasn't certain how it would be taken."

"A warrior of Seiryuu," the man repeated musingly. "Perhaps you were right to keep it hidden. But you must realize, this makes you one of the few people I can trust."

__

Trust?

"You understand the glory of the Dragon, no doubt; the eminence of His lands, the greatness destined for His subjects. You must. You are as much His servant as I am."

__

He thinks nothing has changed from one life to the next. 

"But, my friend…I am puzzled. You appear to me to be a fine, strong young man; however, the Seiryuu no Shichiseishi Ashitare was killed only twelve years ago."

The boy took a breath. "Appearances can be deceiving, Rishun-sama," he said. "In years, I'm still a child; but my heart is old, and I'm as strong as anyone here." That much was true.

"A child. But blessed by Seiryuu Himself." The grin stretched further up Rishun's face. "You'll do well to stay with me, Ashitare. I can help assure your future, as you can help assure mine."

"Heika-sama." Shi gave a slight bow. _He doesn't know, _he thought in relief. _He doesn't know my purpose here. Thank you, Seiryuu…I know it can't be Your will that this madman destroys the Universe. I'll do my best to keep him from it. I swear._

Rishun looked him over, his eyes piercing, leaving Shi feel as though an icy sheet of water had passed through his entire body. "Interesting."

__

I wish he'd stop saying that…

"You might have solved a pressing problem for me, Seiryuu no Shichiseishi."

"Anything I could do to help you and the kingdom of Seiryuu, Heika-sama." He hated saying those words; they made him feel dirty, as if he were still under Nakago's command. 

"Indeed." The new Emperor smirked. "Well, then. Do me the favor of staying here in the palace and holding our throne while I take our army into Konan."

__

…Into Konan.

"Of course," he forced himself to say.

"I shall make you my highest-ranking official. I can see that, despite your age, your memories of the past have left you no different than you were at your death…a tad more articulate and clever, perhaps…"

"Hm."

"No offense intended, of course, Seishi-sama," Rishun said smoothly.

"None taken."

"But you would be useful, as the protector of my title and of Kutou in my absence."

__

Useful.

"It would be my pleasure," Shi bowed yet again. _Say it. SAY IT. _"If you would allow me to serve you as I served Nakago-sama, it would be my pleasure." _Ugh. Now I feel sick to my stomach._

It was, however, exactly the right thing to say. To make Rishun trust him even more than he apparently already—and to a fault—did. Not only was "Ashitare" a loyal minion of Seiryuu, but a minion without much ambition for himself, without the skills to lead or plan. A follower. Just like before. The perfect second-in-command of the man before him, without a single design on Rishun's position. That was the role he had to play. That was who he had to be. 

Rishun raised his head, sticking his nose up in the air a bit while still peering regally down at Shi. "You have a great deal more sense than people give you credit for," he said appreciatively. "In three days, you shall have the title of acting emperor until the other lands have been won. I will inform our subjects of your true identity to keep them from attempting to overtake you…although I don't think that's very likely, since they display an almost unparalleled fidelity to me."

"They clearly see the promise of Rishun-sama's reign," Shi agreed. _Three days. How can I get that news through to Kouji and the others? How?! I don't even know where they are, and I can't possibly leave the palace myself!_

"It has been decreed that I should be the one to lead Kutou to greatness. I must fulfill my destiny."

__

Well, then…I dearly hope that the destiny of those in Konan does not interfere with your grand scheme. He bowed yet again, surrendering himself—in appearance, at least—to Rishun. _I hope you choke and die._

Three days. 

~*~

__

Three days, frowned Kourui, her slight form huddled between a piller and the wall, out of sight. _And then Konan will be…_

Ashitare couldn't do anything. Not if he wanted to keep his spying a secret. She had known he wasn't really a part of the murderous band the moment she'd looked in his eyes. Not that she hadn't had her doubts; it _was _Ashitare, after all…poor Ashitare, who had suffered so much solely because of his unfortunate powers. She often regretted being powerless to help the huge Seishi, but Nakago…how could she even dream of crossing him, after all he had done for her?

But it was no use thinking of that, not now…Rishun had heard them, and he knew who they were. Both of them. He had probably taken the invitation to Shi to visit the harem at face value, which was just as well…at least he didn't seem to suspect anything.

"Kourui! What're ya doin?" 

It was Mouki's gentle voice behind her, the scullion from the North. She turned to him with a finger to her lips, despite the fact that Rishun and Ashitare were already gone. 

The boy fell silent at once, freezing, his gray eyes widening. 

"Shh, it's all right," Kourui whispered. "The new 'Emperor' was just here, but he's not anymore."

"Ack, you scared me!" breathed Mouki, and put his hand to his gray-brown hair. "What, are you spying on him, or something?"

"He's going to attack Konan."

"_WHAT???_"

"_SHHHH_!!!! Just because he's gone doesn't mean you can _shout_!"

"I was _whisper_-shouting," he insisted, folding his arms across his chest.

"We have to do something."

Mouki gaped at her. "Kourui, that's…that's…just _stupid_. Did you see how many people he killed?? I don't think he'd feel sorry at all to add two more to his list."

"Listen; I'm going to tell you something," she said even more quietly, "but you have to promise you won't tell _anyone_."

"All right…"

"This is _serious, _Mouki."

"I _understand _that," he clicked. "I'm not an idiot."

"Okay. That boy who works for the new Emperor…the big one, with the long blue-gray hair?"

Mouki nodded. "I know the one you mean."

"He's a spy. He's not really working for Rishun."

"What? How do you know?"

"I just know."

"Who's he working for, then, if not for Rishun?"

Kourui shrugged.

"You're a real piece of work," her friend informed her.

"Just trust me, okay? I think if we help him, we'll be helping whoever might be against 'Heika-sama'."

"If you say so," he sighed, wrinkling his nose slightly. "How're you gonna let him know you're gonna help him?"

__

I…I think he already knows. "Hopefully, he'll come to _me_," she replied softly, staring off down the hall where her old colleague had stood. 

~*~

There were two old travelers who stopped by the farm, husband and wife, looking for a place to stay on their way through Konan. Ryoushin could tell that his father didn't really enjoy having the man under his roof, given the ogling looks he was directing toward their mother. But the female stranger managed to keep him in line, and Okaasan simply ignored him.

In the evening, while Tenki was finishing his chores, Ryoushin sat with the couple at the table and talked with them, interested in their land and their lives. He himself had only been as far as the nearest small town, and once the two had admitted to coming from Sairou, he jumped at the opportunity to learn something of the place. 

"Why are you going to Konan?" he asked politely, after they had told him all they could about their own hometown.

"Actually," said the woman—Doulin, her name was—"we're going to Kutou. We have business there."

Ryoushin's blue eyes widened. "….Really? To Kutou?"

She smiled and nodded. "Have you ever been there?"

"N-no! I've never…but…I've dreamed of going there," he said sheepishly, giving a small shrug. "But then, I'd give anything to see other lands."

Doulin blinked and shared the briefest of glances with her husband—Lanva—who cleared his throat and leaned forward a bit on the table.

"You say, lad, that…you've dreamed of going to Kutou?"

Raising his eyebrows, slightly confused at the importance of a silly dream, Ryoushin straightened in his seat. "Umm, I…yes, I have. But…"

"They're just dreams," came Tenki's voice from the door.

The three at the table turned to look at him; the boy, dirtied from work, was standing firmly, his arms crossed, fixing his guests with a stone-cold glare. "They're just dreams," he repeated. "They don't mean anything."

His brother lowered his eyes with a slight nod, but his gut twisted all the same. _It DOES mean something. It DOES. I've tried to pretend it's just a foolish wish, but it's more than that. Oh, aniki, why can't you believe me? You've always been so understanding; what's different about this? _

Lanva narrowed his eyes. "The world is built on dreams, my boy," he said gruffly. "It's a pity to ignore them just because they're dreams."

"If I had a dream in which I could fly, does that mean, then, that I should wake up and jump off a cliff to see if I still had the ability?" Tenki shot back. 

"Aniki…" began Ryoushin, "they're our guests; really, you shouldn't…"

"It isn't the same," Doulin said, trying to calm him down while still being heard herself. "There's a difference between that sort of dream and the…"

"It's _exactly _the same," the older boy insisted. "They want us to do something we can't do. They want us to do something we're not _ready _to do. Maybe in a past life we were birds, or something, and it was no problem at all to fly, but if we tried it _now_, we'd fall to our deaths…if we tried it _now_…"

Eyes huge, Ryoushin turned his gaze from his brother to the strangers.

__

Aniki…

"Byakko's tail, boy," said Lanva, "you've had the Calling, too, haven't you?"

Tenki stood as if paralyzed, anger giving way to despair.

"And you remember," the man continued, his voice rough, but oddly gentle. "You remember everything, don't you?"

Without another word, Tenki dashed past them in a panic, running into the small room he shared with Ryoushin and slamming the door behind him. Sliding down the wall, he hugged his knees to his chest, heart pounding rapidly.

__

They know…they know…they know…they know…they know…

TBC…

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Notes: Dude! More drama for the poor characters of FY. ~.^;; And yes, _three _more new characters introduced… well, Subaru and Tokaki (a.k.a. Doulin and Lanva) aren't really _new _new, they're just new to the _story _new…and Kaze-chan guessed who Mouki was! Isn't there a character on Fraggle Rock named Mouki? Spelled Mokey, I think…yeah. The pink one with the green hair who liked to paint. Okay…my memory is scaring me. Anyway, that was just a useless fact and Mouki has nothing to do with Mokey except for the fact that their names sound the same. Hoo boy. I must sleep, otherwise people will continue to think I'm completely insane.

****

Nuriko: People think you're completely insane even when you're well-rested.

****

Me: Shut up. **goes back to singing the Teenage Dirtbag song**

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Nuriko: -_-() 


	13. Shadow of the War

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Disclaimers: I own nothing but Rishun, which I'm hesitant to affirm…

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Warnings: Not many. Overuse of the word "eyes," perhaps. ~.~

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Notes: FINALLY, I get back to Fires of Destiny!! I'm sorry, everybody! I really wanted to alternate chapters between this and Another Story, but somehow, "alternate" became "a million Another Story chapters, then one FoD…" eheheheh….have to work on my pacing and spacing, I guess. But here it is!!! Sorry if it's bad. As always, thanks to everyone who's reading! I hope everyone has a happy holiday!! If you need something to do, go see 'Fellowship of the Ring!' I've seen it twice already (being the nerd that I am), and I thought it was pretty cool. That's something, for someone who's been waiting for this movie to be made since she was EIGHT YEARS OLD!!! (Yeah, yeah, Kaze-chan…I know, you've heard it before…I'll shut up now. Honest. For a while, at least. ^_~ ) Have fun, everybody!

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Thirteen:

Shadow of the War

A day passed.

__

Down to two.

It grated at him. He couldn't leave. He didn't even know where the other bandits _were_. 

He was helpless.

__

Unless…

…_But can I trust her?…_

~*~

When the shale-haired boy who had been her compatriot in the last life appeared in the women's quarters, eyes wide, a flood of relief swept through Kourui's heart. _He trusts me_, she sighed to herself. _He trusts me to help him_.

She made her way over to him, eyes lowered, trying to make it seem like he was "visiting" the way a lord would "visit." Her friends would hate poor Shi because of it, but she couldn't risk them knowing, couldn't risk the betrayal of this sacred trust, couldn't take even the slightest chance that this conspiracy would leak out somehow. They glared at him with ancient eyes, but stepped aside as she made her way over and slipped into a curtained room.

"I don't think the other women like me," he said softly, his brow furrowing in discomfort.

"Of course they don't like you. You're Rishun's aide. How can I help you?"

Shi took a breath, fixing her with his strange golden eyes. "Can I trust you?"

"You already know you can. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

When he still looked hesitant, she folded her thin arms across her chest. "Look. Emperor Tekimasu was my _friend_. He…he was only a few years older than me, and… kind. He said he would marry me one day." She swallowed. "But Rishun _killed him_. He was all that I had, the person closest to me in the world, and he's _dead_. It wasn't _his _fault the country was doing so badly. He would've made it better, I _know _he would've, when he came of age and those stupid advisors of his got kicked out the door. But now he _can't_. And I hate Rishun more than I've ever hated anyone." Setting her jaw, the small girl met her new companion's eyes, unwavering. "Tell me how I can help you."

And that was enough for him.

"I have to get out," he said, so quietly that even _she_, standing only a few inches away, could barely hear him. "There's an army…I suppose…an army of bandits that will fight Rishun, and I have to get the news out to them that he's planning on moving the day after tomorrow. But _I _can't go personally…it would be stupid. Far too obvious."

"And I can't, either," she said. "He heard, you remember; he heard who I was. Maybe he wouldn't suspect that I was doing anything wrong, but he'd notice, anyway."

Shi let out a slow breath. "What can we…"

"You're doin _nothin_," said a sudden voice in his ear, and he felt the sudden chill of metal at his throat. "You make one move toward her and I'll kill you like a…like… something you can kill easily."

"Will you _get away _from him??!" Kourui hissed, eyes flaming. "You _idiot_!! I _told _you, he's with _us_!!"

There was a slight pause, and Shi cleared his throat softly. 

"He's…not trying to…you know…attack you?" said the voice, a great deal less confident.

Kourui glared. "Do you think I'd _let _someone attack me? Get that stupid kitchen knife away from him and shut up."

The weapon was removed, and Shi regarded his assailant: a boy of his own age with long, grayish-brown hair and silver eyes. He was rather tall, though nowhere near Shi's own height, and his face was smudged with dirt. Right now he had adopted a rather embarrassed expression.

"Ehhh…" he began.

"Don't worry," Shi assured him. "I'm glad she has someone to protect her if she really needs it."

"I can take care of myself. But that _isn't _the point here. We have to…" she gasped, "_Mouki_!! You're it! _You _can do it; no one _ever _notices _you_!!"

"Well, thanks a lot," her friend said wryly. 

"We can trust him," Kourui told Shi. "He's as much against Rishun as I am."

The huge boy nodded slowly. "If…if you're sure."

"Excuse me," said Mouki, "exactly _what _am I being hurled into, here?"

"Do you know the direction of Konan?" 

The scullion nodded.

"You must go in that direction, and leave this under a stone facing the Konan border." Shi reached in his tunic and brought out a bit of parchment and some charcoal. He scribbled out his encoded message, then explained to the boy exactly how to leave it so it would be found. "Can you do it?"

Although seemingly a bit overwhelmed, Mouki accepted the folded message and nodded. "Do I get any explanation as to _why_?"

Shi and Kourui shared a solemn look.

"We can't," said Kourui. 

"Well, I think it would only be _fair_, don't you?" her friend said dryly.

"If you get caught, we don't want you to have any important information that can be avoided if possible," she told him gently.

"I won't get caught," he said stubbornly.

"Humor us."

Mouki gave a long-suffering sigh. "All right, all _right_. I'll go tonight, when it's dark. Does that _suit _you, Kourui-_sama_?"

She put a hand on his arm. "It's for the best, Mouki. It will help us greatly."

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, turning to go.

"Thank you," she whispered, from the heart. "And be careful." He waved her away with his hand, not moving to look at her; she turned to Shi, nodding slightly. "He'll do it," she said firmly. "He'll do it."

~*~

He sat in the darkness, the tears dried in streaks down his cheeks, gazing out the window from the corner of the room. They had left him alone, and he was glad for that; but he also knew that he'd have to face them again. He couldn't sit in there forever. 

__

I could run.

He _could. _The window was big enough for him to fit through; he and Ryoushin had sneaked out several times before. 

__

I could run away, and they couldn't make me go with them.

But Ryoushin… I abandoned him before…I let him go off on his own…and what happened? He got himself "killed"…made me lose my mind…and my soul.

No. That was out. He wouldn't abandon his brother, not even if it meant being dragged to Kutou with these frustrating old strangers. He still wasn't exactly sure _how _they knew who they'd been Before, but they knew. 

__

They'll think I'm a coward. But I'm not. I just…I just want what's best for us… for HIM. I want him to be safe. I want…

It didn't seem to matter what he wanted. The gods had decided for him. And he hated it. 

There was a knock on the door, and he knew it would be Ryoushin. It was just like him; give Tenki a while alone to recover from the full impact of his grief, then approach gently to offer sympathy and help. He was silent, knowing his brother would come in anyway, even if he yelled at him to go away.

__

He doesn't know anything about these things. Why does he have to go?

"Aniki?"

Tenki closed his eyes. "So. When are we leaving?"

There was a short pause, as Ryoushin apparently tried to think of something to say. "I…I don't understand why…"

"What it all means?"

He felt the nod, rather than seeing it. 

"I couldn't say exactly. All I know is that we've been summoned by Seiryu, which is stupid, because we don't even _live _in Kutou anymore."

__

THAT'S gonna confuse him.

"S…Seiryu?"

"Didn't those old bags tell you anything?"

"No."

Letting out a deep breath, Tenki opened his eyes, returning his gaze to the moon. "You feel something pulling you toward Kutou," he said. "The truth is…I do, too. It's why I've been sleeping badly for a while. I was hoping we could ignore it, but now…"

"But _why_?" Ryoushin demanded, but in that temperate, soft way he had, as always. "If you thought it was important, why would you ignore it? Why didn't you tell me?"

"There are things I remember…that you don't," he all but whispered.

Another pause, and then Ryoushin had knelt beside him, his brother's eyes fixed on his face even when his own were still lost to the night sky.

"Tell me."

__

How can I tell you? After keeping it secret for so long, after trying so hard to keep it from you? This is too hard…it's not fair. 

"Please." Ryoushin's hand fell to rest on his shoulder; Tenki tore his eyes from the comforting brightness and met his eyes, the eyes that were—and had been—so like his own, Before…clear and blue…but so _unlike _them, empty of suffering, empty of pain. Even 'Kai-ka's' eyes had held a certain melancholy, as if the memories of the war, the deaths of their parents, the hardships they'd had to face, would not allow themselves be completely erased. It had given him such happiness to see joy in these eyes. But now…

__

I have to tell him.

"You…" He swallowed. Beginning was the hardest part. Once he began, his words would run away with him, he knew…but how to begin? _Try again. You can do this. _"You've heard the legends…the stories people tell, about Suzaku no Miko, and her battle against Kutou?" _That's stupid. Of COURSE he knows. It wasn't that long ago, and we've lived in the shadow of the war our whole lives. Skip ahead. _"And you've heard stories of the Seiryu no Shichiseishi, under the control of Nakago?"

Ryoushin didn't yell at him for stating the obvious, and merely nodded.

"Two of the Seiryu no Shichiseishi were brothers," Tenki plunged on quickly. "Twins. Twin brothers, Amiboshi and Suboshi. They were as close as you and I are. And they looked a lot like us, too. As a matter of fact, they looked _exactly _like us. Because they _were _us. We're them. Reborn." _Well. THAT was coherent. WELL done._

He bit his lip as Ryoushin took it all in. The blue eyes unfocused and trailed off toward the corner of the bed, the face grew pensive.

"That's why we're being Called," Tenki breathed softly, grateful that it was over, no matter how clumsy his explanation had been. "He needs us again. Seiryu needs us. And I tried to save us both, but…I suppose…we have to go."

"Amiboshi and Suboshi," his brother mused. "Seiryu no Shichiseishi. It's… strange. It's strange, and I don't remember any of it." He raised his gaze once more. "Are you…sure?"

He nodded. "I remember everything. It's why I tried so hard to avoid it." He was half afraid Ryoushin would ask exactly _what _he remembered, something he wasn't prepared to share at the moment…maybe he _never _would be. But again, with that weird sixth sense of his, Ryoushin did not press the issue.

"Amiboshi and Suboshi," was all he said. "Wh…which one am I?"

TBC…

^_^ 

****

Notes on Amiboshi/Suboshi: Right, so I was talking to Kaze-chan one day, and we discovered that there was a discrepancy between our thoughts on whether Amiboshi and Suboshi are actually both dead or not. Well, Suboshi's definitely dead; the Ryuuseisui through the chest kinda did it for him. But _I _thought Amiboshi died in the first OVA, when Suboshi-in-Amiboshi's-body sacrificed himself to save Yui. Kaze-chan showed me a snippet, however, that says that Yuu Watase herself claims that Amiboshi is _not _dead. ~.^;; BUT…for the purposes of this story, let's just pretend he bit it, okay? We can blame it on the fact that OVA1 was weird and messed up and Yuu-sama didn't actually _write _it, so maybe the drug addict who _did _write it intended Amiboshi to die, so he did die, but he didn't, because Yuu-sama didn't give it the go-ahead. Did that help anything? Didn't think so. Oh well. Discuss it at dinner with your family.

****

Regular Old Notes: Okay, ahhhh……..I went and reread the part with Soi up there, and realized that, oddly enough, she sounds like Hermione from Harry Potter…just kinda. Is it just me? Am I crazy? (Rhetorical question, ne?) Okay, well, in any event, it was unintentional. ^_^ 

And okay, here's the deal: I'm gonna be gone all day tomorrow, _then _I'm going away for three days to spend Christmas with meine Familie, so I didn't get a chance to have someone proof this, but _really _wanted to post it before I left. SO…I apologize GREATLY for any typos and stupid phrases and stuff, and you're more than welcome to email me and yell at me, and when I get back, I'll change whatever I need to. ^_^ Deal? Deal. Arigatooooo!!!! ^_^n


	14. The Messenger

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Disclaimers: I am too tired to think of any. Thanks for asking, though.

****

Warnings: See above.

****

Notes: I'm SOOOOO sorry it took me so long to write this!!! ~.~() Sorry sorry sorry…baka Mouse-chan, being so Another Story-centric these past few weeks… I hope this is okay. Have fun, everyone! Thanks for reading, even though I'm awful at working on this fic.

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Fourteen:

The Messenger

"Tasuki-san?"

"……..Mmmmfffhhhhh, mtrynasleepgoway."

But the insistent little foot dug into his ribs once more. "Tasuki-san? I have to ask you something."

__

Never having kids. Never never never. "Horyuu…s'still dark…g'back t'bed."

"But…" Horyuu dropped to his knees by Tasuki's head, gave a little tug on the bandit's sleep-ruffled hair. "I have to _ask _you something."

"What?"

"You have to open your eyes! I can't ask if you look like you're asleep."

__

All the more reason to look like I'm asleep, then. But he groaned and managed to pry one eye open, and glared as a blurry image of the boy gradually came into focus. "All right, _what_?!"

Now Horyuu was lying on his stomach, chin resting on his forearms, nose to nose with his self-appointed guardian. "Those other kids, Shunshuu and Chiyu?"

"What about 'em?"

"They're like us, aren't they? But no one told them yet, so they don't remember anything, and if they do remember, they don't remember what it means."

Tasuki opened his other eye to stare at his charge. "You recognized 'em?!"

"Ken-chan thinks they're familiar, too," Horyuu shrugged, beginning to pick at the soft grass in front of him. "He said they've gotta be more seishi, cuz we have familiar feelings _and _they said they were Called to Kutou. Are we right?"

With a small, fangy smile, Tasuki nodded. "Yeah, kiddo. Yer right."

"Really?? Who are they, then?"

"But listen; I don't want ya ta go around blabbin it ta people, _least _of all _them_," the red-haired man instructed. "If we gotta tell em, I don't want it blabbed. It's gonna be me or Chichiri that does the tellin. Got it?"

Horyuu nodded frantically. "Yes, but who _are _they?!"

"The little one is Chiriko. Th'other one's Mitsukake."

"Muh…_Mitsukake_???!!!" 

__

Ahhhh, crap. Forgot this one has a thing for the guy.

"Really? It's Mitsukake? Chiyu's Mitsukake???!!!" If someone had given the kid a wagon full of sweets, Tasuki doubted he'd be more delighted.

"_ShhhhhhhhhhHHHH!!!!_" the bandit hissed violently. "What'd I _just say_????!!! Somethin about _not blabbing_????"

The child promptly ignored him, bouncing like he'd had that wagon full of sweets for breakfast. "I gotta go tell Ken-chan!! Bye, Tasuki-san!" Tasuki winced as he darted away, bounding over the prone forms of the bandits who were still sleeping. Rolling his eyes, the red-haired seishi put his head back on his arms and tried to fall asleep again. He had just breached the boundary between waking and a light doze when he was roused loudly and rudely by a very loud, childish scream coming from the direction in which Horyuu had headed.

He bolted upright and jumped to his feet, along with the majority of the others. Racing in the direction of the cry, he found that Kai and Rosuko, who had been on the night watch, had reached the site before him.

"What the hell was _that_??" he demanded, eyes darting quickly from Horyuu—who had wrapped himself around Rosuko's leg—and a small form lying on its back on the dark ground, shaking its head slowly. "Who the hell IS _that_???"

Kai dragged the thing to its feet, evoking from it a small groan. 

__

Sounds like a kid.

A kid.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh, ANOTHER one????? What the hell, are we a wandering orphanage, or something??!! "Who are you??" Tasuki asked firmly. Another refugee from one of Rishun's rampages? Or just some stupid kid who decided to take a midnight frolick in the woods??

"The Mt. Reikaku Bandits, I presume?" said the form, deadpan, putting a hand to its head. "Thanks for the welcome."

"I hit him in the face, Tasuki-san!" Horyuu announced. 

"Yeah. Good for you." He turned back to the captive. "You were _lookin _fer us???"

"Well…" the kid shrugged out of the arms that were holding him. "Not…_exactly. _I _was _supposed to leave you a message. Guess I wandered a _little _too close to the border."

"Message?" Tasuki blinked. "From _who_?"

"Guy with bluish hair, inside the palace," the kid grumbled, rubbing its nose. "Name of Shi. You know. Spy guy, or whatever."

"You…know he's a spy????" Kouji hissed.

With a sigh, the kid cocked his head at the bandit. Tasuki could imagine the cynical look on his face, though most of the features remained shadowed by the trees. "Don't get your knickers in a twist," he instructed. "Not like the whole kingdom knows, or anything. He sent me because he trusts me…I guess…and because no one at the palace would miss me."

"He told you we were here???" Tasuki exclaimed, finding it hard to believe that Shi would do such a thing.

"Course not," the boy—for it _was _a boy—snorted. "That'd be crappy tactics, wouldn't it? They didn't wanna tell me, but it's not like it was hard to figure it out. You should be glad I'm on your side."

"_THEY???_" Kouji and Tasuki's eyes popped out, and a vein on Kouji's left brow began twitching.

"Look; do you want the freakin message, or _not_??" The kid put his hands on his hips. 

Chichiri, who had been standing quietly until this point, decided to chip in. "Yes, perhaps we'd better hear the message, no da…"

Digging in his belt, the young envoy pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "There ya go," he said, handing it to Tasuki, who immediately opened it and read it.

The bandits and their companions were silent as their leader's jaw tightened, waiting for the news with eager, albeit apprehensive, anticipation.

Tasuki stared at the paper for longer than he probably needed to, reading it over and over again in case he'd somehow misunderstood it. But the words didn't change; the truth was there, in black and white, making his insides grow as cold as ice. "They're attacking Konan," he finally said, crumpling the bit of parchment and squeezing it into his fist. "Tomorrow."

The boy was nodding. "That's the long and short of it."

"Is he a reincarnated seishi, too?" Horyuu whispered to Tasuki, tugging on his hand.

The bandit took a deep breath. "_No_. Every damn kid we meet is _not _a reincarnated seishi. Five is _enough_, goddammit."

"We'll have to fight," said Kouji grimly.

Chichiri sighed. "We need an army, no da."

"How're we gonna get a freakin army by _tomorrow_??" Tasuki asked incredulously.

"Um," said a small voice.

All the bandits, plus the children and Chichiri, turned to see Shunshuu, standing shyly outside the circle. 

"There's an army not too far from here that I'm certain would help," the child said.

~*~

Something was wrong.

Something was _very _wrong. Shi could sense it, and it frightened him. 

Mouki had not returned from his "delivery" yet, but that seemed to be the least of his worries. He knew the scullion had not been caught with the message, for such a thing would have caused an uproar, and he would almost certainly have heard. Next on the list of discomforts was the fact that almost everyone had taken to calling him "Ashitare," which disturbed him to no end. But even this could be dealt with, as it was really only a little thing, and he had dealt with much larger anxieties than _that _over the course of his life. 

It was Rishun who was grating on his nerves, and more so than usual. The self-proclaimed emperor had not spoken to him since the day he'd met Soi, which seemed the slightest bit odd; even if "Ashitare" was supposed to be all brawn/no brains, he had thought that Rishun would have paid him more attention.

Not that he _wanted _attention. Far from it, in fact.

The army had been preparing for the past two days: drilling, listening to anti-Konan propaganda, and all that seemed to be necessary in order for an army to unreasonably hate the southern kingdom. He hoped that the bandits would find some way to overcome this obstacle. Not for the first time, Shi began to ponder their actual chances of winning, Destiny or no Destiny. Not paying attention to where he was going, mind in the clouds, he rounded a corner of the palace and bumped smack into Rishun and his attendants.

__

I'm stupid, I'm stupid, he reminded himself, trying to get in character, but realized bitterly that the surprised, slack-jawed expression on his face probably did the trick without even having to pretend.

"Ah! Forgive me, Ashitare-sama," said Rishun calmly. "I didn't know you were nearby."

Shi bowed. "I'm sorry, Heika-sama. I should be more careful when I…"

"Nonsense. It isn't as if you'd attacked me, silly boy." The words were condescending, but welcome, since they meant that Shi's status as a dull, non-threatening rally-point had been asserted. "But this is a bit of luck, for I'd come to find you."

The tall boy kept his head bowed in obedience. _What's he up to, now?_

"As a faithful servant of Seiryu, as I have already said, there will be no one better than you to take over the throne while I take control of our army. I'm sure you know my chancellor, Daishiku. Yes?" 

Risking a small glance at the small crowd behind the man, Shi spotted the one of whom he spoke—a pointy-faced, sadistic man with a crooked, malicious smile—and grunted his affirmation. 

"Good. Very good. During my absence, he will serve you as he would serve me. I put my full faith in him as an advisor; you can trust him with your life."

__

Right, thought Shi. _So I'm to be a puppet. Well, we'll see. _

"The ones to be left behind when the great battle comes," Rishun continued, "have been gathered in the great hall. Surely that is where you were headed, having heard the news. I had intended on rousing you myself, to keep it more of a surprise… but you know how news can leak out." 

Actually, he'd been heading to see Kourui…but better not to think of that now. Shi tried to conceal his frown, replacing it with an appropriately puzzled look. "Why have they been gathered, Heika-sama?"

"Why," said Rishun, "so I might announce to them that they should obey you, as the surrogate Emperor. To make certain that they have it, from my mouth, that you have been granted the right to rule."

"I was under the impression that Your Highness did not intend to attack until tomorrow," the young man said carefully, casually, although his mind was screaming with fury and dread. "Why announce it now? Why at this time of the morning?"

"Oh, that. Yes, well…the Redeemers are ready, Ashitare-sama, and eager to avenge themselves. My head generals and I have agreed that waiting another day would only delay the inevitable. Better to get it over and done with; wouldn't you agree?"

__

No. You can't. Not after we warned that…

"I think a morning attack would catch Konan suitably off guard, don't you?" the man went on companionably, as if discussing the breeding of horses rather than the destruction of a neighboring kingdom. "Of course. Silly to wait a whole day more for a daylight invasion that would be picked up upon right away. No, no. This will be _much _more interesting.

"We attack an hour before dawn."

TBC…

****

Notes: REALLY, really, really!! Tell me about plot holes!! I'm sure there are a ton! ~.~() Sorry if I haven't caught them. If you do, tell me, and I shall mend them. ^_^


	15. The First Battle

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Disclaimer: **sigh** If FY were actually mine, Nuriko wouldn't be reincarnated as a girl in the OVA3. **pouts and glowers** 

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Warnings: Clichéd chapter title, minor Tasuki language, and…oh…stuff.

****

Notes: I have eight pages done on my thesis!! Woohoo!! My goal for tonight was to reach page ten, but I opted for this instead. ~.~() What the heck, I still have two hours of Saturday left with which to achieve my goal. ^_^ Thanks to a buncha people: to Cereal-chan for proofing, to Ryuen-sama for being enthusiastic, to Kreyel-chan (even though she'll never read this) for letting me stay in tonight and write (even though she _thought _I'd be working on aforementioned thesis…eheh), and to Meg-chan for suggesting the character list keepy-tracky thing. ^___^ Thanks for reading, you guys, and have fun! ^_^

Characters so far: (à la Shakespeare format, heehee) 

****

Tasuki

The leader of a buncha bandit dudes
**Chiyu**
Reincarnation of Mitsukake

Kouji
Tasuki's best friend and 2nd-in-command
**Shunshuu**
Reincarnation of Chiriko

Kai
A bandit
**Kourui**
Reincarnation of Soi

Asaku
A bandit
**Doulin**
Byakko no Shichiseishi Subaru

Rishun
Psychotic leader of a rebel bandit group with plans to take over the world and destroy anyone in his path
**Lanva**
Byakko no Shichiseishi Tokaki

Ugou
Rishun's 2nd-in-command
**Tenki**
Reincarnation of Suboshi

Horyuu
The reincarnation of Nuriko
**Ryoushin**
Reincarnation of Amiboshi

Kentoku
The reincariation of Hotohori
**Mouki**
Scullion in the Palace at Kutou

Chichiri
A monk working in Kutou
**Daishuku**
Rishun's chancellor

Gen'ei
Reincarnation of Tomo
**Boushin**
Emperor of Konan

Shi
Reincarnation of Ashitare
**Nakago**
Spirit of former shogun; not reborn
****

FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Fifteen:

The First Battle

He almost didn't fit in the throne.

Well…on the figurative level, he _most definitely _didn't fit in the throne. He had perhaps less right to it than Rishun; after all, conquest _did _tend to earn a man political prowess. But literally, as well… Shi almost had to cross his legs in order to fit between the arms of the ornate piece of furniture.

__

Whatever's happened, I'm SURE Kouji-san and the others know that an attack is coming…and so, the question lies in whether I should keep pretending to be an idiot in case Rishun is triumphant, or try to take advantage of my prestigious situation in case he is defeated. 

Perhaps a happy medium is in order.

Rishun had suspected that his three-day plan might have been leaked; he had never really intended to attack when he had said he would, and shared his true intentions with no one else. The army had been trained with the true attack date in mind without even knowing it.

No one could have known that. He doubted if even Ugou knew, because any physical evidence of the plan, any instructions that might be overheard by the wrong ears, would be a risk.

__

He's too smart. He's too damn smart.

And now, here he was, sitting on top of an undersized throne, listening to Daishuku discussing political matters with everyone in sight _except _for the sit-in emperor.

__

Emperor Ashitare. Who'd have known.

The crowd had seemed…a little less than pleased when Rishun had announced he would be leaving the palace in Shi's hands. His Seishi name held little in the way of fond memories for those old enough to remember the war. His Seishi name, come to think of it, held little in the way of fond memories for _him_.

The fear would keep the subjects from fighting back. That was the flaw in his disguise: he couldn't risk telling his allies for fear that they would accidentally leak it to Rishun or one of his toadies. But if his allies didn't _know _he had changed…if they still thought he was the misguided creature he had been before…they would not dare move against him. 

He almost wished they _would_. He wished they would do _something_, even if it ended in his own death. But it was a feeble wish. These people could do little without an army of their own. 

__

I won't just sit here like a fool.

No. He _would _do something…he _had _to. He'd been given this position for a reason, and it wasn't to preserve it for the likes of Rishun. He had to _act_, whether it cost him his life or not.

"Daishuku-sama," he called out without thinking, surprising himself both with the actual call and with the authoritative note in his voice.

The chancellor's conversation stopped abruptly, and he and his group turned bewildered eyes to Shi.

"Yes, Ashitare-sama?" said Daishuku in the wheedling tone that so many people disliked.

"Bring me Kutou's religious leader," Shi continued smoothly, trying to keep his gaze straight and imperial. _Of course. That'll work. _"Emperor Rishun instructed me to do so, exactly an hour after his departure."

The man looked about to protest, but then apparently reconsidered as the boy meaningfully flexed the muscles in his shoulders, a seemingly unconscious gesture that came off, nonetheless, as rather menacing.

With a hasty nod, Daishuku agreed. "At once, Ashitare-sama."

__

It's better than nothing, Shi thought firmly as his rejected puppetmasters shuffled out of the throneroom. _And it just might be a good idea…_

~*~

"Army?!" said Tasuki, looking over his shoulder in search of campfires. "Where?? Where where where???"

Shunshuu looked as if he were trying to repress a sigh. "You…can't _see_ them, Tasuki-san."

"What the hell are ya _talkin _about, then?"

"The Army of the Emperor of Konan," Shunshuu explained. "I'm sure it could arrive quickly, if Chichiri-san used his unique method of transportation to get there."

Kouji gave a small snort. "_If _we could convince them to come," he said. "We're a bunch of bandits. D'ya think Emperor Boushin would send in the entire army just because _we _ask him to?"

"He _has _to have heard _something _about what's goin on in Kutou," said Tasuki. "And besides, he's Hotohori's _kid_. He's gotta have a _little _common sense."

"I have a kid?" said Kentoku.

"I'm an uncle??!!" Horyuu said excitedly.

"Shut up," hissed Tasuki.

"That won't be a problem," Shunshuu assured them. "I _know _Emperor Boushin. We're actually fairly good friends. The Empress Dowager Houki-sama, wife of the late Emperor Saihitei Seishuku, took me in when my own parents died."

"I…have a _wife_??" exclaimed Kentoku.

Tasuki reached around and covered both Kentoku's and Horyuu's mouths with either hand. "Heh…just ignore them…they're…tired."

"You know the _emperor_?" Chiyu said to his traveling companion. "I knew you were _noble_, but…"

"Ah-_em_," said Shunshuu. "No offense to anyone here, _however_, if we're going to ask for Prince Boushin's assistance, we should probably do so as soon as possible."

Kouji and Tasuki shared a look, finding agreement in each other's eyes. 

"We don't really have a choice, no da," said Chichiri. 

Tasuki nodded. "Right. So Chichiri, you go with Shunshuu and…"

"Ummm…s'cuse me," said the boy who had brought them the message in the first place.

"We're tryin ta _plan _stuff, here…" Tasuki shot, turning toward the voice. The child was standing slightly out in the field, motioning frantically with his hand and looking in the direction of Kutou. With a sinking feeling, the red-haired bandit approached him cautiously.

"Might have to think a bit quicker than that," the messenger gulped.

There, slowly, moving above the horizon like a mob of fireflies, were the torches of the Kutou Army.

"Shit," muttered Tasuki, scrambling back to the others. "Shit, shit, _shit_… They're _coming_!!!!!" Racing to the fireless campsite, he leapt onto the back of the first horse he could find, taking his tessen from his back. Kouji and the others followed suit, charging out into the clearing, squinting through the darkness at the approaching forces.

"Tasuki-san??!" came Horyuu's frightened voice.

"You _stay back_!" the bandit leader ordered fiercely. "You and the other kids, _stay back _in the forest!! I want you to find somewhere to _hide_, and not come out until one of us calls for you! Do you understand?!"

"But what if something happens to you?!!" wailed the purple-haired boy, sounding desperate in his anguish.

"_Nothin's _gonna happen to me!!" Tasuki said firmly. "I'm a Suzaku no Shichiseishi!!! I've seen worse days than this. Now, get _outa _here!!!" Reaching out a hand, he snagged the messenger boy by the back of his tunic, lifted him off the ground, and tossed him—though gently—in the direction of the trees. "You too, Attitude Boy!"

"Okay, _okayyyy_!!!"

"Tasuki…" said Chichiri, suddenly popping up beside him.

"Chichiri…go find Chiriko and take him to Boushin and Houki," the bandit ordered, lowering his voice the slightest bit. "Get them to help us."

"But…you'll _need _me," the monk insisted. "You can't fight the entire Kutou army without me!"

"We're outnumbered freakin ten to one, if not more," Tasuki clenched his jaw. "No offense, pal, but I don't even think _you'd _be enough to make much of a difference. What we need is some freakin _support_. I'm not right about a hell of a lot of things, but you know I'm right about this."

"I'm staying until I can get a blow in, no da," Chichiri informed him cheerfully. "It can only help."

"Dammit!!!" the bandit exclaimed. "Who the hell's _in charge _here??!!"

"Genrou-san, they're _here_!!" Kai shouted over the mêlée. "They're, um…really kinda close now!!!"

And he could hear them. He could hear their cries.

"Shit," he cursed again. "Chichiri, dammit, _go_!!! We can't risk you gettin hurt and not bein able to go!!"

The monk's face fell the slightest bit.

"You _know _I'm right!!!! Now get the hell outa here!!" Turning his horse abruptly, Tasuki left his friend staring after him, going to join Kouji at the head of his makeshift regiment. His heart pounded like a hammer in his chest as the enemy trampled closer and closer, sending tremors through the ground beneath them…

__

There are too many of them…there are too many of them…

"We gonna charge the bastards, or what??!" he shouted, to drown out the nagging despair in his head.

"Thought you'd never ask!" Kouji called back.

With a final glimpse at each other, the two companions let out a roar; Tasuki raised his tessen, Kouji raised his sword, and they both spurred their mounts toward the Kutou border. Echoing their leaders, the rest of the Mt. Reikoku bandits did the same, racing off to fight the first hopeless battle of an unmatched war, defending the freedom of the Universe. 

~*~

Chichiri watched them go, feeling as helpless as he had during the last war with Kutou, when he'd lost his powers and Mitsukake had…

But Tasuki was right, and he _did _know it. They couldn't worry about the lives of a few men when whole kingdoms were at stake. 

Rushing into the forest, he cried out for Chiriko…for Shunshuu. The boy, as luck would have it, hadn't hidden himself yet, perhaps guessing that the trip to Konan would proceed as scheduled, and that his help would be required. Mitsukake was with him, on his face an expressionless look that was all too familiar to those who had known him before.

"Come on, no da…hurry up!" The monk lay his kesa on the mossy ground, opened the portal, and told the children what to do; unquestioning, they obeyed, and soon disappeared.

With one last look at the raging battle in the near distance, Chichiri quenched the feeling in his heart that he was abandoning his closest friends to slaughter. Squeezing his eyes shut, he, too, stepped through the magical passageway to Eiyo. 

The single tear of frustration that had risen in his good eye fell, but never touched the air, as it remained trapped beneath his ancient mask.

TBC…

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Notes: Questions? Comments? Plot holes? Email me! Purplemouse105@hotmail.com ! And as always, thanks for reading, everyone! ^__^ 


	16. Condemned to Fate

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Disclaimers: I now own a Fushigi Yuugi pencil board, and it's reeeeeeally cool!!!! YAYYY!!! But still, I do not own FY, even though I wanna. Then I could fool around with the characters, and it'd all be _legitimate_!!! Woohoo!! ^_~

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Warnings: ? dunno. Frogs? (don't even say it, Lisa.)

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Notes: Again, again, horrendously long time between chaps of this ficcie…and I'm sorrrryyyy!!! **cries** Really, really, I am. But it's here now, right? ~.~() Ehehe. Anyhoo. I already gave a chapter to Schwencky, but I have to do it again, because she's the one who eeeeevilly urged me to write fanfic instead of working on my thesis. --;; Thanks a lot, Distracter. (Holy Ghost, this is not an episode of Scooby Doo. ^_~) Anyhoo, again, sorry this took so long, and I hope it's okay. ^___^ 

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter 16:

Condemned to Fate

It was awful.

The news was coming daily of trouble brewing in Kutou, and Shunshuu… Shunshuu was out there for some reason, his best friend, his _brother_… He would have ordered his men to go in and put a stop to whatever was going on, but his advisors were resolute. Kutou's problem was Kutou's problem, they said, and reminded him that not only was Konan's army small, but it had suffered its own detriments during the war his father had fought.

Boushin sat in the Imperial Gardens and stared at the pond, and wished he were a frog. He felt that frogs did not have _half _the problems that he did, and even if they did, they'd probably forget them almost as soon as they arose. Shunshuu had told him once that most smaller animals had awfully short memory spans. Yes. Being a frog would be preferable. He wouldn't even have to get married.

They'd _already _started talking about him getting married, how having a wife and children would be important, and had told him about something called a Harem, where his future wife would live before he married her. He'd seen the Harem, and it was gross. All it was was a bunch of girls who sat around and played with stupid toys all day, and he didn't have time for that. He was the _emperor_. _If _he got married, it wouldn't be to someone who played with stupid toys. That was girly and _boring_.

  
"I wish Shunshuu were here!" he called sternly to the sky, frowning, hoping that somehow, his Imperial Wish would be granted. Ah, but who was he kidding? As his mother always said, just because he was the emperor, it didn't mean he was better than everyone else. So why should _his _wishes be granted, and not some other boy's? It was only fair, he supposed, that everyone's wishes should be treated the same w…

"_AAAHHHH!!!!_" came a hideous cry from above, and before he could look up, something fell right on top of his head.

Blinking at the sky from his prone position on the ground, he suddenly was faced with a pair of anxious green eyes. "Boushin-sama! Are you all right?"

__

That sounds like…

"Aaaaaahhh!!!" he yelled, scrambling into a sitting position.

"Boushin-sama!" exclaimed Shunshuu in delight.

"I…you…_It worked_!!!!" _The wish! It worked!…Oh, no…I hope the one about being a frog doesn't come true, too…_

His friend was confused. "What worked, Boushin-sama? Did you…hit the ground at an odd angle?"

"Never mind," he said quickly. "How…how did you _do _that??"

"I traveled by monk!" Shunshuu grinned, gesturing over to the side. Boushin followed his gaze to a peasant boy with dark hair, and a blue-haired man with a kesa, who was crumpled awkwardly on the ground and moaning, "Itai, no daaaa…."

"By monk?"

"Magic," said Shunshuu, and his face grew suddenly serious. "Heika-sama, we have to speak to you about what's occurring in Kutou…"

~*~

There was blood in his eyes, masking the world in red, trailing down his cheeks like tears. He had long since lost his horse, and several of his friends…his men, his _family_…

"_REKKA SHINEN_!!!!" 

He didn't know how his voice could be so strong, but it didn't matter much; he could barely hear himself over the battle. Three of the Kutou in front of him were caught in the flames his tessen had set free, but it wasn't enough…it wasn't enough…

__

We're all gonna die here.

Far from making him despair, the thought actually served to anger him. With a roar, he lashed out again and again with his weapon…he saw Kouji over a ways, fighting off blue-clad, armored soldiers from his horse; saw Kai struggling with two men who used to be his companions, each of them nearly twice as big as the wiry bandit; saw blood, smelled it, felt it on his face, its warmth trickling thickly down his neck…

__

Shit. Shoulda let Chichiri freakin stay and help out…

But it was too late for that now, and he wasn't one to gripe about "should have done." So he continued to fight, focused on nothing but the blades coming at him, the men he led…until he heard it.

A scream. A terrified, high-pitched scream…

A child's scream.

Heart catching in his throat, he faltered, almost catching a second blow to the head for his carelessness.

__

No. _Not again. Not again!!!!!_

They could kill him. He had pretty much resigned himself to that. But he had let Hotohori and Nuriko die once already, and there was no way in Hell he was going to let that happen again. 

He beat and burned his way toward the forest, where he had _told _the kids to _hide_…and saw them…at least, three of them, being dragged from the trees by a pair of shirking, heartless, dragon-loving bastards who were laughing at their fear. One had Gen'ei and Horyuu around the waist, with the latter trying valiantly to fight back, in a futile attempt to claw through the armor. The other was dragging Kentoku roughly by the hair, so that the boy stumbled while trying to keep up. And a surge of pure rage coursed through Tasuki's body, swelled through his chest, made his fists clench painfully hard onto his weapon as he ran blindly at his enemies…

…Something collided heavily with the back of his skull, and he felt himself falling…

……

…_No_…

~*~

The Empress Dowager Houki raised serious, sea-green eyes to her old friend's face. She had greeted Chichiri heartily, and a few tears had been shed; she had gently scolded her surrogate son for rushing off so quickly. But now, she sat at the long, wooden table by the side of her son, and set her mouth firmly. 

Since Boushin was still in his minority, the regency would have gone to Hotohori's—or, more formally, Emperor Saihitei's—old advisors. But Houki-sama had fought for the title of regent, and the old men had respected her too much to deny her her wish. So it was that she was now the Emperor of Konan, in all but name: the fragile, stout-hearted little woman who looked so much like Nuriko, now nearing her thirtieth year, held the affairs of the nation in her dainty hands. And she would continue to do so until Boushin came of age, which would fall in a year or two. 

"Kutou," she now said, her voice quiet. "Kutou, again… And here, I had thought all our troubles were over, now that Seiryuu and Suzaku had both been summoned. I suppose it was not a very wise thought."

"Forgive the haste of our request, no da," said Chichiri, who, while trying to keep his calm, was clutching his hands together much more tightly than he should have. "But the Kutou Army has already moved, no da, and is heading here as we speak."

Houki looked at her son, whose golden eyes—_so much like Heika's_—were laden with worry and uncertainty. She allowed herself to smile at him, to assuage his fears, but only for an instant; after, she rose slowly from her seat, on her face a determined, set expression.

"The Army of Konan will depart for the border as soon as possible," she promised, with a nod to one of the advisors, who bowed in return and hurried out of the room. "We'll catch them by surprise. Chichiri-sama…you will come with us?"

The monk stood quickly, uncharacteristically lost for words. "Ahhhh…with… '_us_,' no da?…"

She gave him a grin that mirrored the one she had given to Boushin, sweet and cocky all at once. "In the last war, my husband led the army against Kutou when he was only eighteen years old," she said. "Don't you think that I can do the same in this one?"

Chichiri blinked beneath his mask.

"H…Houki-sama!" exclaimed one of the old men who flanked her. "You…You can't…"

"I am the wife of Emperor Seishuku Saihitei," she responded, not unkindly. "I most certainly can. And I don't see why you're so worried, anyway; after all, if I'm killed, it's _you _who will take over the regency, is it not?" The men had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I'm going with you, then!" announced Boushin, jumping up. "I'm the _son _of Emperor Seishuku Saihitei! I can…"

"No, Boushin-sama," said Shunshuu, pulling on his friend's sleeve. "No. You can't go." The boy looked about to protest, but a shake of his mother's head was enough to send him back to his seat, looking helpless and defeated.

"Neither should you, no da," Chichiri told Shunshuu and Chiyu. "You two should stay here, no da…"

But Shunshuu just raised his chin, and Chiyu said, "No. We have to be there. The two of us…we were sent for. You'll need us there, somehow."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Chichiri knew they were right. Even if they were not aware of it, the fact that the children were reborn Suzaku no Shichiseishi practically condemned them to any fate the gods had in store. He caught Houki's eye, expecting her to protest…but was surprised when she gave him a tiny nod.

__

She…knows. She recognizes them.

He tilted his head the slightest bit, to show that he understood that _she _understood…when one of the guards, of whom he'd not even really been aware, approached one of the advisors. The advisor, in turn, approached _another _advisor, who finally cleared his throat and relayed the message to the Empress.

"Houki-sama…it seems there is a group of peasants awaiting an audience with you. An old couple, and two young boys."

Houki frowned. "Old couple? I wonder what they want…"

"Shall I send word for them to be sent away, Houki-sama?" the man offered. "It's not exactly the best of times to deal with the worries of the poor…"

She looked down her nose at him. "I think we will see them, if you please. They've traveled far, I'm sure, and it won't take long. The soldiers are still not even in their armor yet." With a charming grin, she strode regally out of the meeting room, with her friends and servants tagging close behind her.

The visitors were in the great hall: an old man with a white beard, a plump old woman with long, flowing hair, and two boys, almost identical in appearance, gripping each other's hands as if one or both of them was afraid. They bowed as she approached, and she greeted them gently, preparing her ordinary speech for such occasions…but then, she heard Chichiri give a little gasp beside her, so faint that she almost missed it. And when she turned to him, questioning, she saw that he had removed his mask, now held it gently cupped in his left hand. The single, deep-brown eye moved from visitor to visitor, flashing recognition.

The old man raised his head, gave a lop-sided grin and a nod to the blue-haired monk. "Chiri-san," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "Been one hell of a long time, ne?"

The old woman swatted him. "_Will _you mind your tongue when we're in the presence of the Empress Dowager?? You never _did _have any manners…"

"What, as if you're any better, hitting me like that," the man growled.

"Houki-sama, no da," Chichiri chuckled, and she saw that his mask had somehow been replaced, in an unseen flash of a gesture. "May I present Subaru-san and Tokaki-san…Byakko no Shichiseishi."

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TBC…

Notes: Lalala…must do homework. Damn. --;; Homework is dumb. **sigh** Anyhoo…..yyyyyyyeah. This story is winding down to its last few chapters, I think…but, since I have certain things planned but not _everything _planned, no one really knows for sure how long it's _really _gonna be. Heehee. Well, thanks for reading, everyone!! Have fun! Ja! ^___^

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PS: Aahhh, and I'm sorry for leaving poor Tasuki with a conk on the head like that!!! Gomen gomen gomen! Don't kill me, Kaze-chan…or Schwenckster, either, come to think of it. ~.~() Ehehehe… **backs away sloooowly as Tasuki fans come after her with tar and feathers**

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PPS: Neee, Kaze-chan…you gotta tell me if Tokaki and Suba-chan are IC, okie dokie? ^___^ Sorry we haven't been catching each other recently, but I hope to talk to ya sooooon!! **glomp**

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Bizarre Question of the Day: If both parties involved are dead, does it count as necrophilia? ^_~ Bahahaha.

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Nuriko: Mouse-chan, that's not even funny. You're sick.

  
**Me: **Oh, and I suppose weird and random thoughts like that have never entered _your _mind on the way to the Foreign Language Building from the Armory???

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Nuriko: …I guess I'm just not that "special."

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Me: Shut up.

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(Schwenck: Heyyyy, what a cool orange bandana!!…

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Seymour: Ouch! My kidneys…**)**

:Þ


	17. Conditions of Capture

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Disclaimer: No owny no owny no owny

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Warnings: Ummm…not much

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Notes: AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Poor neglected story!! **hugs it** Ehehe, seems I really got wrapped up in the sappy stuff going on over at YAS. ^^;; But…I'm really gonna make an effort to finish this! And I'm sorry I haven't been able to write anything for a while. L It's the end of the year, and I've got papers comin out the wazoo. Lovely, ne? --;; But hopefully, if all goes my way, I should be able to work on this stuff more than I have been in the past week or so…well, anyway. Thanks for reading, everyone!! ^___^

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FIRES OF DESTINY

Chapter Seventeen:

Conditions of Capture

When he came to, he had a headache the size of Mt. Reikaku itself. 

Tasuki squinted up at the sky from where he lay, his back against a cool wall of stone. He tried to bring a hand to his head to somehow quell the dull throbbing, but found that he couldn't move his arms. With growing despair, he realized that, most likely, he had been captured by the Kutou, and that the weights on his arms were probably shackles.

Surprise was short-lived when he actually glanced down to see he was not immobilized by irons, but by children.

Horyuu and Gen'ei had surrounded him on both sides; they had pushed themselves under his arms and were now clinging to him like moss, heads resting on his chest. Wondering briefly and incredulously how the hell he'd become a goddamn father figure in such a short period of time, he glanced to his right to see Kentoku and that cocky messenger kid sitting beside him. And in front of him, and surrounding him…his bandits. 

They were battered and bruised, some bleeding from their wounds; their clothing was torn, their faces weary. Kouji was kneeling across the narrow street from him, the back of his white shirt stained with red; apparently, though, his best friend was not terribly injured, as he looked like he was trying to help out some of the others. 

They were in bad shape, captured and injured. But they were alive.

He didn't know why. He could see several missing faces in his mind, and it seemed obvious to him that there had to have been _some _who had been killed. But Rishun's psychotic reasons were his own, and who was he to argue about being left alive?

Trying to ignore the pounding in his temples, he looked past the men to see their surroundings. It was a small village, one that the Redeemers had apparently raided. Tasuki could see that it was surrounded by a high stone wall, though the town hardly seemed big enough to merit such protection; he could see from one side to the other without even moving. Then again, he remembered, there _was _a local bandit tribe to worry about. Not that the wall had done much good against an army.

And over the wall, he could see the standard of Kutou.

__

We're in a freakin prison. _They've got us cooped up like a buncha freakin chickens in a henhouse._

He let out a deep sigh; the sudden movement was enough to stir Horyuu and Gen'ei, who both gave tiny whimpers before lifting their heads to blink up at him sleepily. 

__

At least Chichiri got away.

"Tasuki-san?" Horyuu said in a shaky voice, curling his fist into the flame-haired bandit's shirt. "Are you…awake now?"

"Yeah, yeah, kid…I'm awake. Everything's gonna be fine, okay?" He threw each of his armfuls a reassuring grin, and Horyuu hugged him at once, burying his face again in Tasuki's chest. Gen'ei, though, just stared at him with anxious yellow eyes, as if he didn't quite believe the man.

__

Suzaku, that kid's creepy.

"Did I tell you little idiots to keep yourselves hidden?" he tried to growl, but it didn't come out nearly as fiercely as he'd intended. After all, there was nothing to be done about it now, and the absolute _last _thing he needed was to make the damn kids start crying, or something. "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?" _Do you have a freakin boo-boo?? Should I kiss it and make it better?! Dammit. I am not their mother._

"They're fine," said Kouji's voice from nearby, and Tasuki lifted his eyes to look up at his friend. "I looked 'em over already. Little scared, maybe, but otherwise fine."

"I don't get scared," announced Messenger Boy nonchalantly.

"Yeah, kid; and we all know to trust _you_," Tasuki snapped. " 'They're gonna attack tomorrow', he says. _A whole freakin day _until freakin Kutou attacks. Uh huh. We see how _that _worked out."

"Ahh, gimme a break," the boy insisted, jutting his jaw out. "Can't blame me if they changed their goddamn minds!"

Kouji cut him off before he could retort. "Genrou. Still have your tessen?"

Suddenly horrified, Tasuki reached up to feel behind his back, found nothing, and began to let out an impressive stream of curses that made Horyuu blink up at him with wide eyes and mouth. Kentoku and the annoying palace kid were equally astounded, and even Gen'ei's eyebrows lifted a bit.

With a slight wince, Kouji knelt and rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look; they took _all _our weapons. I thought they might've taken the tessen, but I had to make sure…"

"Why the hell'd they take the bloody thing??!" Tasuki exclaimed. "It's…a freakin…_fan_!!! How the hell'd they know it was magic??"

"Um, _gee_," Kouji said dryly. "Maybe it has somethin to do with the fact that you were usin it to shoot monster flames at the Kutou army."

"Dammit!"

"Far's I can tell, they've got the place pretty well guarded," the dark-haired bandit sighed. "We'll have a tough time makin it past those guys."

"But, we're seishi, right?" Horyuu said in a small voice.

"Shh," said Kentoku from his side. "They're discussing important things."

"Here, here…" Slowly, Tasuki lifted his arms from around Horyuu and Gen'ei, and made a move to stand. "You four kiddos stick together here, okay? I gotta go talk to your Uncle Kouji for a sec…"

The Uncle Kouji thing brought a huge grin to Horyuu's face, taking away the fear of being abandoned, as Tasuki had hoped. Annoying Palace Kid looked slightly skeptical at the newfound relationship.

"_Uncle_?" Kouji said after the two of them had set themselves a bit apart from the rest of the bandits.

"Humor me," Tasuki muttered, running a hand through his hair and still trying his best to ignore his headache. Folding his arms across his chest, he turned solemn eyes back to his men. "How many dead, Kouji? How many missing?"

His friend's mouth tightened, a small line forming at his brow. "There are about half of us here, as far's I can tell. I saw some go down back there: Garushuko, Bouru…to name just a few. But I'm sure there must've been some who got away. We're not the most well-known outlaws in Konan for nothin."

"Well," Tasuki sighed, "that's somethin, at least…if they've got sense, they'll try to make it to Konan and join up with Chiri…Man, were ya serious about our chances of escape lookin so dim?"

"They've got all our weapons," Kouji repeated. "They've got us surrounded. We're at half strength when we were outnumbered to begin with; they've only left a few to keep us contained here, but…it'll be damn hard to succeed in escaping when we've got kids to look out for. If it was just us, it'd be different…but we've got kids, and even if a few of us could succeed in escaping…Genrou. You weren't conscious to hear, but the conditions of our capture were stated fairly clearly."

Tasuki cocked an eyebrow. "Conditions?"

"For every one who escapes, five who remain will be killed," his friend said grimly. "So it's all of us, or none of us."

"_Shit_. He _would _do somethin like that! Bastard…"

Kouji nodded, then shook his head, letting out a shallow breath. "Best thing to do, though I hate to say it, is to wait until we're relieved. Chichiri will already have gotten to Eiyo. They'll come soon."

"I hate this," Tasuki growled, clenching his fist. "I hate this. Freakin hate it."

"Call me crazy," said Kouji, "but I have a feeling everyone here agrees."

~*~

The High Shaman was surprisingly young, standing before the throne clean-shaven and sturdy. He carried himself with a humble sort of dignity, but Shi could see that there was power behind his blue-green eyes. Power and defiance.

He was so glad.

The man was confused when Shi ordered the Kutou Guard to lead him to the council room and leave him there. In turn, the guards themselves were confused when he instructed them to leave him alone with the Shaman, and appeared unwilling to go.

"Orders of Emperor Rishun," Shi explained dully, flexing his shoulders again, trying to make it sound as if he was reciting something told to him by the evil man. "I am…to take this man and…sit with him alone. No one is to contest me."

While the men still looked dubious, they did not protest, and Shi praised his status as a Fearsome Seishi along with Rishun's intimidating rule. 

He slid into the small council room with a sigh, turning relieved eyes to the rigid High Shaman standing at the foot of the table. When the door was firmly shut and locked, he risked a tentative smile at his guest, and motioned for him to approach. The man betrayed slight puzzlement, but approached smoothly, his head held high.

The hint of defiance he had shown in the anteroom meant that Shi could trust him. This man was not tuned to Rishun's ideas of slaughter and redemption. And so, towering a head and a half above the High Shaman of Kutou, Shi bent his head forward and whispered, "Please…if you want to stop Rishun's dynasty before it even begins, please listen to what I am about to say."

The sudden change from lout to eloquence made the visitor's clear eyes widen the slightest bit, and Seiryuu no Seishi Ashitare crossed all the fingers he had, hoping that destiny would take pity on him, and let the man believe... 

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TBC…

Notes: Ahhhh, FoD! It's back! ^^;; Hopefully it will progress decently from now until the end… ehehehe. ^^; Hope you guys liked it! And if you catch any plot holes, let me know. ^_^

And I could not resist aaaaaa…. ****

FIRES OF DESTINY AKUGI!!

Mouki: I don't get scared.

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Tasuki: Yeah, kid; and we all know to trust _you_. 'They're gonna attack tomorrow', he says. _A whole freakin day _until freakin Kutou attacks. Uh huh. We see how _that _worked out.

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Mouki: Ahh, gimme a break!

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Kentoku: **slides in** Gimme a break!!

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Horyuu: Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!!

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Tasuki & Kouji: Gimme a break!

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Bandits: **hop up and start dancing** Gimme a break!!

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All: Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!!! **pose**


End file.
